Biodiversity COP Or Flop? What COP16 Means For Business

1. Background

Just over a week ago the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) ("COP16") concluded in Columbia.

As we reported at the time, the previous biodiversity conference that took place in 2022 (COP15) was considered a success after nearly 200 countries signed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (the "Framework"). The Framework sets out four global, long-term goals for 2050, with twenty-three shorter-term targets ("Targets") designed to "halt and reverse biodiversity loss" by 2030 to help achieve the wider 2050 goals. The headline "30 x 30" goal is an agreement to conserve 30% of the Earth's land and seas by 2030, which has become a north star in terms of biodiversity ambition.