From Stagnation to Breakthrough: COP 16's Ambitious $200bn Nature Pact and the Introduction of the Cali Fund

COP16 negotiations resumed last week in Rome, following an abrupt end to proceedings in Cali, where many key issues were left unresolved—partly due to representatives being forced to leave negotiations to catch flights home.

Fast forward four months, and against a backdrop of multilateral stagnation and growing political uncertainty, delegates arriving in Rome could have been forgiven for setting low expectations.

Recent negotiations around climate finance, plastic pollution, biodiversity and desertification have left much to be desired. Recent decisions by the U.S. — the world’s largest biodiversity donor — to significantly cut aid budgets and once again withdraw from the Paris Agreement, certainly wouldn’t have helped morale heading into negotiations.

Yet, in the early hours of Friday morning, negotiators from over 140 countries reached a landmark agreement to mobilise $200 billion annually for nature by 2030, including a commitment to provide $20 billion in international funding annually by 2025, rising to $30 billion by 2030.

This agreement marks a significant step in global efforts to halt and reverse nature loss and implement the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). Included in the agreement were the main principles and steps for existing financial frameworks and innovative mechanisms, such as biodiversity offsets, carbon credits and debt-for-nature swaps, will be leveraged to mobilise these funds.

Parties also finalised a monitoring framework to plan, monitor, report and review national progress toward the goals and targets of the KMGBF. This new framework will be key for policymakers to assess advancements and identify areas for improvement in implementing the KMGBF.

Another key development was the launch of the Cali Fund, a global financial mechanism designed to secure long-term biodiversity financing from companies that benefit from the use of genetic data. A major win from Cali, this mechanism will help channel capital to Indigenous Peoples and local communities and was hailed by Astrid Schomaker, the Executive Director of the CBD, as “the first time since the inception of the Convention, a global fund under the Conference of the Parties will receive contributions from the private sector in the form of levies from business income generated thanks to the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources."

Despite these successes, challenges remain. Countries remain divided over whether a new dedicated fund is needed to manage and distribute nature finance. Meanwhile, implementation is lagging as three-quarters of countries have yet to submit their National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plans (NBSAPs), despite the deadline having passed four months ago. To add insult to injury, recent analysis from Carbon Brief and The Guardian revealed that more than half of the 137 countries that have updated their biodiversity plans to the UN have not committed to protecting 30% of their land and sea for nature by 2030.

While hurdles remain, the outcome of COP16 represents a significant milestone in bridging the nature finance gap, accelerating the implementation of the KMGBF and reaffirming the power of multilateral cooperation on the global stage.

COP16 President Susana Muhamad in Rome. (Photo: IISD/Earth Negotiations Bulletin)

As COP16 President Susana Muhamad aptly stated, ‘Only by working together can we make Peace with Nature a Reality’. With COP30 and other pivotal negotiations on the horizon, the hope is that COP16 will not only serve as a foundation for further progress but also as a catalyst for bolder commitments and tangible action in the year ahead. The challenge now lies in translating these promises into lasting change—ensuring that funding reaches those who need it most, that ambitious conservation targets are met, and that nature remains at the heart of global decision-making.

Written by Jonathan Marriage, Content Manager at Innovation Zero.