COP17 Talks Stall Over Funding and Nature Targets

United Nations biodiversity negotiators entered the final day of COP17 in Armenia with talks still stalled over conservation finance, harmful subsidies and a global review of progress toward 2030 nature targets. The summit was scheduled to close October 30, but an extension remained possible; the negotiations’ final outcome was not established in reports published that day. The proposed global review is intended to recommend ways to turn biodiversity pledges into action and accelerate progress. Delegates had not agreed on its contents after days of discussion. The review is part of the Yerevan Pathway, a package of decisions intended to advance the goals adopted under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022. Funding was another major dispute. The European Union pressed for wealthy emerging economies, including China, to contribute to international biodiversity finance. Talks on that proposal had stalled. A United Nations mechanism known as the Cali Fund, which is intended to direct some proceeds from corporate use of genetic information from plants and other organisms toward conservation, had attracted about $10,000 since launching in early 2025. Its annual...