COP17 of the CBD: Addressing the biodiversity funding gap

With just five months to go until the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 17), the European Commission convened a crucial meeting in Brussels today (21 May) to address the most critical obstacle facing global conservation: closing the annual biodiversity funding gap of €37 billion.

The event, entitled“Private Financing for Biodiversity: From Policy to Portfolio: Unlocking Capital for Nature through InnovativeMechanisms”, focused on the stark reality that public funding is under severe pressure.

Halting and reversing the decline of ecosystems will require collaboration from everyone, and it will be essential to rapidly scale up innovative financial mechanisms to drive private investment alongside national and international public funds.

Innovative financing mechanisms

Around 140 policymakers, financial institutions and private sector leaders gathered at the event to discuss this issue, focusing primarily on how to scale up private investment in biodiversity. Participants shared practical strategies for innovative financing and discussed how to turn ecosystem dependencies into reliable and useful indicators for decision-making in portfolio management.

Particular attention was paid to nature credits and the ongoing implementation of theRoadmap to Nature Credits. By bringing all these stakeholders together, the event strengthened the collaboration needed to drive biodiversity financing and achieve the objectives ofthe Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

The IPBESBusiness and Biodiversity Assessment released in February also took centre stage, highlighting that business and financial leaders possess immense power to restore nature. However, it issues a clear call to action, demanding that governments establish the robust legal frameworks necessary to mobilise this capital safely and effectively.

As preparations for CBD COP17 intensify, the EU continues to play a crucial role in supporting the implementation of the GBF and in promoting innovative financing mechanisms, such asnature credits.

Fund

The CBD, which is one of the three so-called Rio Conventions, entered into force on 29 December 1993. It has three main objectives:

• Conservation of biological diversity
• Sustainable use of the components of biological diversity
• Fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources.

COP17 will take place from 19 to 30 October in Yerevan, Armenia. 

The summit will focus on monitoring progress towards the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework. Adopted at COP15 in December 2022, the Global Framework sets out an ambitious roadmap to achieve a global vision of living in harmony with nature by 2050. The framework sets out four overarching goals for 2050 and 23 specific targets to be achieved by 2030, directly supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Through the GBF, the Parties to the CBD committed to generating the necessary investments: €200 billion annually by 2030, from all sources.

The EU has fully adopted the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) andhas defined 45 targets for its implementation.This encompasses theEU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030and other relevant policies aimed at halting and reversing the deterioration of ecosystems.

The Commission also adopted the Roadmap towards Nature Credits in 2025, which will guide its work towards a potential new source of funding for nature conservation and restoration.

For its implementation, see the7th National Report submitted to the CBDin February 2026.

More information: European Commission.