Nations commit to get nature goals back on track at UN biodiversity summit

Nearly 200 nations reached agreements at the UN biodiversity summit in Armenia (COP17) on Friday, but the outcome was marred by missed opportunities to address humanity's destructive impact on nature. While crucial texts were approved in overtime, acrimonious debates and limited progress on contentious issues tempered the celebrations.

The summit aimed to revive a commitment to halt and reverse nature destruction by 2030, but the United Nations warned that progress was insufficient to meet the 30 percent target for protecting Earth's land and oceans. French Ecological Transition Minister Monique Barbut lamented that the progress failed to achieve was a series of missed opportunities to speed up the response to biodiversity loss.

The final negotiations turned tense as hours dragged on, with some delegates leaving to catch flights while others stayed to argue technical points. Despite the political challenges, COP17 president Hambardzum Matevosyan brought down the gavel on two major texts, marking a step forward in addressing harmful subsidies and financial incentives that encourage activities harmful to nature.

However, the summit was also marred by a rare fight over science, with countries accused of undermining efforts to approve key reports. The European Union pushed for wealthy emerging economies to contribute to global conservation efforts, but outstanding questions over the Cali Fund's design were left unresolved.