Biodiversity Summit Opens With 196 Nations Behind Schedule and Nature Still Losing Ground
World governments gather in Armenia for the first full progress check on a landmark nature pact, but four years in, the promises are outpacing the action.
The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity opened Monday in Yerevan, Armenia, launching the first global review of whether countries are actually meeting their commitments to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030 [1]. The summit is the first stocktake since the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted, and the mood is grim: nearly four years after governments celebrated that historic deal, progress has stalled and expectations for this meeting are low [1][2].
Delegates will review national progress, identify gaps, and push for stronger action on conservation targets, with negotiations expected to focus on financing, implementation, and accountability [1]. The stakes were underscored by United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres, who called on governments, businesses, and communities to act faster, warning that current efforts are too slow to safeguard nature for future generations and urging increased financing for biodiversity protection [3].
The meeting is widely seen as a key test of whether countries are turning pledges into policy — and many nations remain behind on their goals [1]. Almost four years ago, governments reached the deal at COP15 in Montreal, Canada, to halt the destruction of Earth's ecosystems; today, that optimism has faded as delegates arrive with the outlook bleak [2].