Dutch minister heads to UN biodiversity summit as 2030 nature goals fall behind

Dutch agriculture and nature minister Jaimi van Essen is travelling to Armenia on 27 and 28 October for the UN biodiversity summit, where countries are assessing progress towards global nature targets and discussing how to speed up their implementation.

The summit, COP17, runs from 19 to 30 October in Yerevan. It is the first global assessment of how countries are carrying out the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, agreed in 2022. The Dutch government says the world is not on track to meet the framework’s 2030 goals.

The Netherlands wants countries to strengthen implementation of the existing targets, including by better integrating biodiversity into government policy and economic sectors. It will also press for more funding for biodiversity and attention to financial incentives and investments that harm nature.

The Dutch government is developing a national biodiversity finance plan to estimate the funding needed to meet the country’s biodiversity goals and identify possible financial tools. At the summit, the Netherlands will host meetings on raising more money with businesses and financial institutions, and will seek greater involvement from companies, finance bodies and civil society in delivering international commitments.

Van Essen is due to take part in the ministerial sessions on 28 October and hold bilateral meetings with officials including European Commissioner Jessika Roswall and ministers from Norway, Ivory Coast and Germany. The Netherlands is participating in negotiations as part of the European Union’s joint position.