As country representatives hunker down for the second week of critical negotiations at the UN Biodiversity Conference (Cop16) in Cali, Colombia, a growing chorus of experts is sounding the alarm over the disturbing lack of progress towards the landmark targets set less than two years ago to stem the destruction of nature.
In December 2022, world governments reached a historic agreement at the Cop15 summit in Montreal to halt and reverse the staggering loss of Earth’s biodiversity by 2030. The ambitious deal, hailed as a “Paris Agreement for nature,” included commitments to protect 30% of land and oceans, reform $500 billion in harmful subsidies, and restore degraded ecosystems on a massive scale.
Yet as negotiators in Cali dig into the details of implementing those targets, fears are mounting that countries are already falling behind, putting the mission to save nature at risk of failure once again. Despite the urgency, few nations have submitted formal biodiversity plans, key funding mechanisms remain uncertain, and the scope of the challenge is becoming clearer by the day.
A Biodiversity “Debt Trap”
According to a sobering new UN assessment, meeting the 30×30 target alone—protecting 30% of the planet for nature this decade—will require conserving an area of land larger than Brazil and Australia combined, plus an expanse of ocean exceeding the size of the Indian Ocean. So far, progress has been incremental at best.
“We’re in a kind of biodiversity debt trap,” warned Andrew Deutz, Director of Global Policy at The Nature Conservancy. “The longer we wait, the more expensive and difficult it becomes to protect and restore nature at the necessary scale. The science is clear—we’re running out of time.”
Falling Short on Funding
Equally concerning is the apparent lack of progress on mobilizing the enormous financial resources needed to underwrite the biodiversity agenda. Experts estimate that achieving the Cop15 targets will require closing a nature funding gap of $700 billion per year.
“We talk a lot about a climate finance gap, but biodiversity is facing a finance abyss,” said Brian O’Donnell, Director of the Campaign for Nature. “Without a serious reckoning on where this money is going to come from—and soon—these targets risk becoming yet another set of empty promises.”
So far, negotiations on creating a dedicated Global Biodiversity Framework fund have stalled, with major donors reluctant to commit resources commensurate with the crisis. Meanwhile, scant progress has been made on phasing out the billions in perverse subsidies fueling the destruction of ecosystems worldwide.
Gaps Between Ambition and Action
Most alarming of all, as the summit’s halfway mark approaches, is the seeming disconnect between the lofty rhetoric of the Cop15 agreement and the concrete actions needed to deliver on its promise. Two years later, just a handful of countries have even submitted national biodiversity strategies, leaving their commitments on paper.
“We cannot accept inaction as the new normal,”
Martin Harper, CEO, BirdLife International.
“In Cali, we need to see a real gear shift—from pledges to plans, from ambition to accountability,” said Harper. “This isn’t just about vague aspirations anymore. It’s about rolling up sleeves and doing the hard work of bending the curve on biodiversity loss. There is simply no more time to waste.”
Catastrophic Consequences
Failure to act, scientists warn, risks propelling the planet towards a cataclysmic tipping point, unraveling the web of life that sustains human civilization. Already, a million species are rushing towards extinction, ecosystems are collapsing at terrifying speed, and escalating climate impacts are compounding the crisis.
“Biodiversity is the foundation of our economies and societies—there is no path to a thriving future without it,” said Inger Andersen, head of the UN Environment Programme. “This isn’t just about saving iconic species, as important as that is. It’s about securing the very basis of human wellbeing and survival on this planet.”
A Moment of Truth
As negotiators head into the summit’s final stretch, all eyes are on whether world leaders will rise to meet this moment—or risk sleepwalking into another decade of catastrophic failure. While some remain hopeful that the Cop15 targets can still be met, others worry time is swiftly running out.
“Cali is shaping up to be a reckoning for the biodiversity agenda,” warned Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International. “Either we seize this chance to chart a new course—or resign ourselves to a future immeasurably diminished. For the sake of people and planet alike, failure is simply not an option.”
Most alarming of all, as the summit’s halfway mark approaches, is the seeming disconnect between the lofty rhetoric of the Cop15 agreement and the concrete actions needed to deliver on its promise. Two years later, just a handful of countries have even submitted national biodiversity strategies, leaving their commitments on paper.
“We cannot accept inaction as the new normal,”
Martin Harper, CEO, BirdLife International.
“In Cali, we need to see a real gear shift—from pledges to plans, from ambition to accountability,” said Harper. “This isn’t just about vague aspirations anymore. It’s about rolling up sleeves and doing the hard work of bending the curve on biodiversity loss. There is simply no more time to waste.”
Catastrophic Consequences
Failure to act, scientists warn, risks propelling the planet towards a cataclysmic tipping point, unraveling the web of life that sustains human civilization. Already, a million species are rushing towards extinction, ecosystems are collapsing at terrifying speed, and escalating climate impacts are compounding the crisis.
“Biodiversity is the foundation of our economies and societies—there is no path to a thriving future without it,” said Inger Andersen, head of the UN Environment Programme. “This isn’t just about saving iconic species, as important as that is. It’s about securing the very basis of human wellbeing and survival on this planet.”
A Moment of Truth
As negotiators head into the summit’s final stretch, all eyes are on whether world leaders will rise to meet this moment—or risk sleepwalking into another decade of catastrophic failure. While some remain hopeful that the Cop15 targets can still be met, others worry time is swiftly running out.
“Cali is shaping up to be a reckoning for the biodiversity agenda,” warned Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International. “Either we seize this chance to chart a new course—or resign ourselves to a future immeasurably diminished. For the sake of people and planet alike, failure is simply not an option.”
