Stockholm (NordSIP) – Stand up Norway, Sweden, and Germany. Those are the only three developed countries that have backed up their commitment to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) with adequate levels of financing. This assessment is based on new research carried out by independent think-tank ODI and published this month with the aim of informing negotiations at COP16 in Cali, Colombia.
ODI’s ranking is based on working out each developed nation’s progress towards providing their ‘fair share’ of the $20 billion worth of annual biodiversity finance that was agreed at COP15 in Montreal. The GBF signatories agreed to work towards this initial global target by 2025, with $30 billion to be reached thereafter by 2030. The ODI researchers calculated each nation’s fair share of biodiversity funding based on their ecological footprint between 1960 and 2021, taking account not only of domestic consumption patterns but also of imports and exports that affect nature beyond each country’s borders. The reference year used in the report is 2022, and while the priority was to provide an update for COP16 delegates, ODI plans to publish a full update in early 2025.
Norway, Sweden, and Germany were found to have respectively contributed 176%, 147%, and 114% of their fair share of biodiversity finance in 2022. However, in what amounts to a very top-heavy ranking more than half of GBF signatories provided less than 50% of their fair share. A more positive signal is the rate of growth, with developed countries combining to provide just under $11 billion of financing in 2022, up from $8.39 billion in the previous year. If this 22% rate of growth were to continue, the GBF 2025 target of $20 billion would be reached. Unfortunately, commitments to this rate of growth have not been forthcoming and many developed economies are experiencing budget cuts.
Spotlight on the laggards
Although the overall nature financing picture remains uncertain, the ODI report highlights some of the main laggards. Chief among these is Japan, which has one of the larger fair shares but has only financed 28% of it and would need to triple its contribution to meet its allocated target in time. The UK, Italy, Canada, and Spain are between roughly $800m and $1 billion away from their respective targets but are on more adequate pathways towards their financing goals. In contrast, Australia’s financing of 68% of its fair share in 2022 is down from the previous year’s 74%.
The United States (US) has not signed up to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and therefore falls outside the scope of this study. Nevertheless, given the scale of the country’s economy and global impact the ODI sought to apply the same methodology to the US, which is allocated by far the largest fair share of the $20 billion target. The US’ biodiversity finance total of $1.79 billion in 2022 represents just 14% of its fair share of $12.72 billion. This was up from 7% in 2021, but the US was starting from a very low base and will need to swiftly ramp up its contribution to keep pace with other developed nations.
The delegates currently negotiating at COP16 will not only be considering the global sums needed to bridge the nature finance gap, but will also be considering more qualitative aspects such as the mechanisms involved. As highlighted in the ODI report, the concessional loans provided by the likes of France, Japan, and multilateral development banks may not be best suited to developing nations already heavily burdened with debt.
