Biodiversity finance estimate trails 2030 goal ahead of COP17

Global biodiversity finance is estimated at $74.9 billion to $92.4 billion a year, well below the $200 billion annual goal set for 2030, according to an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development analysis published ahead of the UN biodiversity conference in Yerevan. A separate first global assessment of progress under the biodiversity framework finds fewer than half of the national targets assessed by countries are on track.

The OECD estimate averages finance from domestic and international, public and private sources over 2023–25, using data currently available. Compared with the framework’s $200 billion goal, the range is about 37% to 46% on a simple scale comparison. That comparison is not a definitive calculation of a global funding gap: the estimate has data and methodological limitations and does not establish either the full amount of finance available or how much is needed.

Public spending makes up most of the estimate

The OECD estimates domestic public expenditure accounts for 61% to 69% of the total. Its estimates for the main components cover different periods, as shown below.

The total estimate is roughly equivalent to 0.07% to 0.08% of global gross domestic product, the OECD says. The organization cautions that the aggregate is not directly comparable with its estimate for 2015–17 because data coverage and methods differ.

Some narrower comparisons show increases over time, but they do not establish a trend for all global biodiversity finance. Across 63 countries with consistent data, domestic public expenditure rose 16% in real terms between 2018–20 and 2023–24. International public biodiversity finance rose 94% over that comparison period under the OECD’s specified counting method.

National targets face implementation challenges

The Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat’s assessment, issued October 15, says nearly 90% of the convention’s 196 Parties have established national biodiversity targets. But fewer than half of the targets assessed by Parties are on track. The assessment identifies financing and other means of implementation among the areas where gaps remain.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s Target 19 calls for mobilizing at least $200 billion annually for biodiversity from all sources by 2030. It also sets goals for international biodiversity-related financial resources to developing countries: at least $20 billion per year by 2025 and at least $30 billion per year by 2030, with particular attention to least developed countries and small island developing states.

Associated Press reported that CBD Executive Secretary Astrid Schomaker said progress was not fast enough. AP also reported limited progress by countries in identifying harmful subsidies they would reduce or reform. Those reports describe implementation concerns; they are not decisions made at COP17.

COP17 is scheduled to hold its formal meetings in Yerevan, Armenia, from October 19 through October 30. The opening ceremony is scheduled for October 18 at 17:30 local time. The conference is expected to conduct the first global review of collective progress under the framework; no COP17 decision had been made as of October 18 at 10:12 UTC.