IISD Welcomes New Deal on Global Biodiversity Framework

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) congratulates the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) for adopting the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which will guide work within and outside the United Nations system on tackling biodiversity loss and help lay the groundwork toward the CBD’s vision of living in harmony with nature by 2050.

“This was a hard-won outcome, capping years of intensive and difficult negotiating work,” said IISD President and CEO Richard Florizone. “Now, even greater collaboration will be required to translate this new framework into action. IISD welcomes the result and is committed to supporting the framework’s successful implementation.”

The new framework was adopted in plenary at the CBD’s Fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP 15) in Montreal, Canada, during the early morning hours of December 19, 2022. The framework sets out four global goals to achieve by 2050, as well as 23 global targets, which have a 2030 deadline for delivery.

Key elements strengthen the Global Biodiversity Framework, including: 

• The crucial 30 by 30 target of restoring 30% of degraded ecosystems on land and sea while conserving and managing 30% of the world's ecosystems (terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine) by 2030. This is a significant step forward in global efforts to reverse biodiversity loss and ensure nature continues to sustain our communities, well-being, and economies.
• The reference to the role of nature-based solutions and/or ecosystem-based approaches in climate change mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk reduction. This paves the way for more synergistic cooperation between climate and biodiversity actions using nature-based solutions and/or ecosystem-based approaches in order to tackle the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss in a coherent, complementary manner.
• The recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ rights, roles, and contributions to biodiversity conservation and protection. Specifically, the framework includes strong language on ensuring a human rights-based approach for its implementation based on the principle of free, prior, and informed consent of affected Indigenous peoples and local communities.
• The creation of a new Global Biodiversity Framework Fund that will be established under the Global Environment Facility. The fund will complement existing support and further scale up financing for implementation, with a target of mobilizing at least USD 200 billion per year by 2030 from all sources. This is a critical step towards closing the nature finance gap. 
• The commitment by CBD Parties to address harmful subsidies to biodiversity and to slash these by at least USD 500 billion per year by 2030. 

The successful adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework after years of negotiating during the greatest health crisis of our generation is proof that, together, humanity can rise to the occasion. It needs champions and transparency to ensure that every voice is heard in the final hours of negotiations, but multilateralism works.

This is just a beginning, and CBD parties should now focus on the implementation of actions aimed at achieving the framework’s goals and targets. This will require significant efforts from all of society and from all levels of government. It must also involve a massive increase in the resources going toward nature in light of the mammoth finance gap between the levels of funding currently going to nature-based solutions and/or ecosystem-based approaches and the resources needed for global biodiversity conservation. 

Through various programs and projects—including the Nature-Based Infrastructure Global Resource Centre, the Nature for Climate Adaptation Initiative, the Natural Infrastructure for Water Solutions initiative, and the National Adaptation Plan Global Network—IISD will continue to work with governments and stakeholders to advance nature-positive outcomes.