The Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 16) was held in Cali, Colombia from October 20-November 2, 2024. As the first meeting of COP since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022, major areas of focus for negotiations were implementation and funding needed to meet the goals of the GBF. 

The event saw a record turnout, with more participants than ever attending a CBD COP and a notable increase in business engagement. Several positive outcomes of the negotiations included increased funding commitments for the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund and the establishment of the Cali Fund , to support fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources. However, many were left disappointed as government discussions fell short of the progress that was hoped would advance the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) but there were some promising signs outside the formal negotiating halls. 

In sessions on business and finance, including those hosted at Bloom, SMI and the World Biodiversity Summit, discussions were encouraging and showed significant evolution from COP15 in Montreal. Conversations have shifted from “why should we do this?” to sharing real-world examples of “how to do this” as businesses and financial institutions are beginning to address nature risks and opportunities. Key themes that emerged included: 

Integrating Nature on the Balance Sheet: There was strong focus on the progress in measuring and valuing ecosystem services (ES) and advances in natural capital accounting (NCA), led by both businesses and governments. These efforts are helping support investment decisions and the TNFD framework for nature-related financial disclosures. 

Investing in nature: Conversations on nature finance dominated many of the business and finance sessions. Large, globally active banks, asset managers, and asset owners reaffirmed that they have the assets and a range of solutions ready to invest in nature and are ready to work on finding the opportunities. Increasing opportunities highlighted throughout the week included direct investments in nature-based solutions (NbS), investments in companies that have positive impacts on biodiversity such as the Federated Hermes Biodiversity Equity Strategy and fund, and a growing number of nature tech companies as highlighted in a recent report by BNEF.

Pollination was delighted to co-host a lunch at Nature House on how to finance nature, regenerative agriculture and forests with Barclays, The Rockefeller Foundation and Nature2 which brought together financial institutions for candid conversations and to share inspiring examples of the action they are taking, ranging from banks working directly with clients to structure bespoke nature solutions to large asset managers offering nature–focused investment banking services. 

A critical framing in this regard is the role that nature plays as infrastructure and how this infrastructure can be financed as discussed by groups such as the Landbanking Group. Other examples that were highlighted included biodiversity bonds, debt conversions and investments funds. 

In addition, the IAPB announced its principles for biodiversity credits which can be found at https://lnkd.in/emsATgDU.  

Critical role of insurance: The role insurance can play in unlocking finance for nature received a lot of attention at this COP. In advance of the Conference, Pollination and Howden launched a joint report called Through the Wilderness that outlined four key pathways for insurance to unlock nature finance, while ongoing conversations with Climate Champions and the Nature Tech Collective showcased examples of parametric products and other innovations that can leverage insurance to address nature-related risks. This is an area which is attracting a lot of new ideas and innovation with an increasing number of products and other solutions emerging.  

Redirecting Harmful Subsidies: A recurring message was the need to redirect the $7 trillion currently directed towards activities harmful to nature, without which other investments to positively impact nature may be ineffective at advancing achievement of the GBF’s goals. 

Simplifying Metrics: While metrics are essential, they should not stall progress. Companies are adopting pragmatic approaches, like using land cover change as a proxy for biodiversity, to move forward without waiting for perfect measurement tools. 

And finally none of this is possible without the leadership and participation of Indigenous peoples, local communities, and others stewards of nature including farmers and producers. It was encouraging to hear multiple companies and organisations emphasise that it is not enough to simply “engage IPs and LCs stakeholders” but rather they should be co-creators and involved in the design of nature-based solutions and nature finance opportunities from the outset. One of the highlights was a dinner hosted by our inspiring colleagues at the Pollination Foundation – an evening focused on partnership and collaboration with an emphasis on how indigenous leadership and communities are essential to meaningful nature restoration and conservation and how important trust and authentic relationships are to achieving the goals of the GBF.  

To discuss our COP16 insights in more depth please get in touch with Suzanne Blake at suzanne.blake@pollinationgroup.com.