Guterres urged faster action and funding to stop biodiversity loss

Guterres spoke in Yerevan, Armenia, ahead of the opening of the conference UN Biodiversity Conference COP17 next week.

“The food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe – they are all gifts from biodiversity,” he said. notified Leaders Summit. “Yet every day, humanity sees another branch of the tree of life.”

Risk of extinction

The UN chief said factors such as climate disruption, overgrazing and excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides are “driving a triple planetary crisis of pollution, biodiversity loss and climate chaos”.

As a result, more than a million species are at risk of extinction, “moving us ever closer to an uninhabitable world,” he warned, adding that “it doesn’t have to be this way.”

Progress failed

Guterres said the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, agreed four years ago, had inspired action around the world.

Nearly 90 percent of political parties have set national biodiversity targets, while more than half have developed national roadmaps. Since 2022, an additional 1.3 million square kilometers of land and six million square kilometers of ocean have received formal protection.

However, “progress has been uneven and too slow”, he said. Even if countries meet their current commitments, only 26 percent of land ecosystems and 12 percent of marine ecosystems will be protected by 2030 – “well below” the Framework’s goal of conserving 30 percent of the world’s land and oceans by that year.

He also highlighted “huge gaps” in national targets related to the economic system, including commitments to reduce incentives that destroy nature. Funding, technical capacity, cooperation and data collection remain inadequate, he said, noting that biodiversity funding is less than half of the $200 billion agreed in the Framework.

He emphasized that biodiversity cannot be separated from conflict, food insecurity, disease threats or climate change. “Addressing one of these crises requires addressing all of them,” he said. “And there’s no time to waste.”

Government leadership is needed

The Secretary-General first called for government leadership, urging countries to meet the “30 by 30” target and “move from policies that destroy nature to practices that preserve it”.

Priorities include a zero-waste and circular economy, sustainable agriculture, regenerative agriculture, stronger monitoring and transparency, and stricter law enforcement.

He welcomed the Yerevan Declaration and its commitment to integrating biodiversity into government policies, budgets and regulations.

Divert funding to nature

His second plea focused on finances because “the reality is, we are spending money on the wrong things.” He notes that for every dollar invested in protecting nature, $30 is spent on activities that destroy it.

“By 2023, $7.3 trillion will flow to industries that negatively impact nature,” he said, including polluting heavy industry, destructive agribusiness and fossil fuels.

“I urge governments everywhere to end this handout once and for all, and use the savings for the benefit of people and planet.”

The Secretary-General said that to achieve global biodiversity, climate and land restoration goals, annual investment in nature-based solutions reaching $571 billion by 2030 is required – equivalent to around 0.5 percent of global gross domestic product.

Private sector involvement

“But the government cannot do this alone,” he said, calling on the private sector to take action. He pointed to UN support Dana Cali as a mechanism by which companies that benefit from nature can help finance its protection.

Guterres also mentioned the rapid growth of renewable energy. The cost of solar power has fallen by almost 90 percent since 2010 and investment in green energy is now almost double that in fossil fuels. In addition, renewable energy managed to prevent emissions last year that were equivalent to those of the United States, the European Union and Japan combined.

“But these benefits are not shared equally across the world,” he said, noting that many developing countries are unable to invest adequately in either nature or human development due to debt burdens, limited public budgets and an unfair international financial system.

Participation from the whole community

The Secretary-General’s final appeal was the need for broad participation, especially from the younger generation, civil society, women, Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

“Environmental damage often falls heaviest on the most vulnerable groups, and those who cause the least problems. But the solutions often emerge from these same groups,” he said.

With 76 days remaining until he leaves office, Guterres said that confronting climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution had become one of his top priorities.

“Let us act with the urgency that this moment demands,” he said. “For our children. For our future. And for all life on Earth.”