UN nature summit in Yerevan approves two key agreements

Nearly 200 nations on Friday adopted hard-fought agreements at the UN biodiversity conference COP17 in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. The documents are intended to put the world back on track toward the goal of halting nature's destruction by 2030. The texts were approved in overtime after two weeks of tense negotiations, and delegates applauded the outcome.

COP17 president Hambardzum Matevosyan closed the vote with the words "And that's it. Perfect." The final versions of the documents were not immediately made public.

Why it matters

In 2022 the world adopted a pact setting ambitious targets to stop biodiversity loss by 2030. Before the summit, the UN warned that countries would miss the goal unless they urgently changed course. Most objectives are falling short, including protecting 30 percent of the planet's land and oceans, tackling pollution, and giving poorer countries more conservation funding.

Points of dispute

During the talks, countries argued over reforming subsidies and other incentives that encourage activities harmful to nature, such as fossil fuel use, intensive agriculture and overfishing. A separate dispute concerned new sources of money for conservation, a sensitive issue as public budgets are strained by an energy crisis and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Restoring degraded ecosystems, saving endangered species and protecting forests, wetlands and other habitats is estimated to require $700 billion more per year than is currently spent.

The European Union pushed for wealthy emerging economies such as China to help pay for global conservation. A draft circulated on Friday, suggesting a compromise, invited countries outside the list of developed donors to join voluntarily.

The Cali Fund, a UN mechanism for sharing profits from companies that use genetic data from plants and other organisms, also proved hard to refine. It aimed to raise $1 billion a year for conservation in developing countries when it launched in early 2025, but has so far attracted around $10,000.

Countries also feuded over key scientific reports, with a handful accused of stonewalling acceptance of the findings of a UN-backed biodiversity body. French Ecological Transition Minister Monique Barbut said the attacks on science had bothered her a great deal. About 70 ministers joined the talks this week.

The previous summit, in Colombia in 2024, ended without a deal; negotiations resumed in Rome in 2025, where an agreement was reached. COP17 was also expected to decide on Friday whether Panama or Ecuador will host the next summit in 2028.