COP16 Biodiversity: negotiations resume in Rome in February 2025

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The United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP16) will resume from 25 to 27 February 2025 in Rome, after being suspended in early November in Cali, Colombia. The suspension was due to the loss of quorum in the early hours of 2 November, when the minimum number of delegates to continue the work was not reached. Today, 28 November 2024, the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) set a new date to continue with the COP16 sessions in order to conclude the negotiations and discuss the remaining unresolved issues. The meeting will be held at the headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome.

The COP16 represents a crucial event for the future of global biodiversity. COP16 Chairwoman, Susana Muhamad, Colombia's Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, emphasised the importance of building trust and consensus among Parties. "In the weeks to come, and during our February meeting in Rome, I will work alongside the Parties to build the trust and consensus necessary to achieve Peace with Nature, Muhamad said, emphasising that the success of the meeting also depends on translating the commitments made, such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), into concrete actions. A key aspect of the negotiations will be funding for biodiversity, with the aim of securing adequate and predictable resources, which are essential to implement transformative changes at the global level.

One of the main items on the agenda of the resumed COP16 will be the definition of a resource mobilisation strategy for biodiversity, with the goal of securing USD 200 billion per year by 2030, but also to reduce biodiversity-damaging incentives by at least USD 500 billion per year by 2030. In addition, the possibility of establishing a global financing facility for biodiversity will be examined, with the aim of mobilising and distributing funding effectively.

One of the other key topics at COP16 will be the definition of effective monitoring tools to measure progress towards the KMGBF targets. The Parties will discuss the adoption of a monitoring framework to verify concrete achievements against the 23 targets outlined in the global plan. The Planning, Monitoring, Reporting and Review Mechanism (PMRR) will be essential to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of resources. Co-operation with other conventions and international organisations, as well as the inclusion of non-state actors such as youth, women and indigenous communities, will also be key to enhancing the effectiveness of plan implementation. In addition, topics such as the finalisation of the national reporting template, which will help countries track progress through clear and measurable indicators, and the CBD's multi-year work programme, will be discussed.

The resumption of the negotiations of the COP16 in Rome marks a pivotal moment for the protection of global biodiversity. The decisions to be taken in February 2025 will have a significant impact on international environmental conservation policies. The conference will focus on crucial issues such as the funding of biodiversity actions and the definition of effective tools to monitor progress towards the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). In a global context increasingly marked by climate change and biodiversity loss, COP16 represents a key opportunity to strengthen international cooperation and translate awareness of ecological challenges into concrete, urgent and transformative action.