• Governments agreed to mobilize at least $200 billion annually by 2030 to fund biodiversity conservation.
• The agreement establishes permanent financial mechanisms and strengthens monitoring and reporting frameworks.
• A new Cali Fund was launched to ensure private sector contributions support biodiversity efforts.

Governments reached a crucial agreement on February 27, 2025, in Rome to mobilize the resources needed to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). This follows COP16 negotiations, which resumed after being suspended in Cali, Colombia, in 2024.

A Commitment to Fund Biodiversity

The agreement sets a target of mobilizing at least $200 billion annually by 2030, with $20 billion per year in international funding by 2025, increasing to $30 billion by 2030. The deal establishes permanent financial mechanisms in line with Articles 21 and 39 of the Convention on Biological Diversity and seeks to improve existing financial instruments.

“This agreement shows that multilateralism works and is the vehicle to build the partnerships needed to protect biodiversity,” said Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. “We now have a clear mandate to implement Article 21 and 39… the world will have given itself the means to close the biodiversity finance gap.”

Tracking Progress & Ensuring Accountability

Parties also finalized a monitoring framework to track global and national progress toward the KMGBF’s 23 targets and four goals. The new framework ensures that data can be interpreted by policymakers and aggregated globally to measure implementation.

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COP16 President Susana Muhamad highlighted the importance of collaboration: “Only by working together can we make Peace with Nature a reality.”

Additionally, the agreement clarifies how non-state actors—including businesses, civil society, and indigenous communities—can contribute to biodiversity commitments. The global review process will be evaluated at COP17.

Launch of the Cali Fund

A major milestone of COP16 was the launch of the Cali Fund, which will receive contributions from private sector entities using digital sequence information (DSI) from genetic resources. At least 50% of the fund’s resources will be directed to indigenous and local communities, acknowledging their role in conservation.

By securing these agreements, COP16 sets the stage for the continued implementation of the KMGBF, ensuring long-term financial and strategic commitments to biodiversity protection through 2030 and beyond.

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