Climate 411

Building Trust and Consensus at CBD COP16: A Breakthrough for Biodiversity Finance

By Annie Mark and Milloni Doshi / Published: March 3, 2025

COP16.2 plenary in Rome

This blog was authored by Milloni Doshi, Project Manager, Global Engagement and Partnerships and Annie Mark, Senior Director, Global Partnerships.

The 16th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16) concluded in Rome with what is being hailed as a historic global finance plan to support the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, agreed at COP15 in 2022.  

The first of its kind in the biodiversity space, this financial plan was the subject of tense discussion and remained unresolved after the first session of COP16 in Cali, Colombia. Parties diverged on the funding mechanisms needed to mobilize at least 200 billion USD a year by 2030. Colombia’s COP President Susana Muhamad reconvened the Parties in Rome for a three-day sprint – referred to as COP16.2 – to resolve the outstanding issues from Cali.  

Amid the nuances of the text, EDF sees three key reasons for optimism, and three opportunities to strengthen this endeavor as we look ahead to COP17 and the 2030 targets.  Read More »

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The Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ Road to COP30 at Belém: An Outlook for 2025

By Bärbel Henneberger / Published: January 29, 2025

Kleber Karipuna, President of APIB and Coordinator of the Global Alliance, presenting strategies for effective participation at COP30. Photo by Bärbel Henneberger, EDF

By Bärbel Henneberger, Senior Partnerships Manager, Environmental Defense Fund

For Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) organizations of the Americas, 2025 brings fresh expectations. For the first time, the UNFCCC COP30 will take place in the Amazon Basin,  hosted by the city of Belém, in the Brazilian state of Pará. This will present a unique opportunity to cast global attention to the challenges and potential solutions unfolding in the wider Amazon region.

For context, the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, is also the largest and most vulnerable deforestation front. WWF estimates that 20 percent of its biome has been lost already, and that 27 percent will be without trees by 2030 if the current rate of forest loss continues. For IPLCs, the forest is the home that sustains all life.

Last week, during a workshop on Indigenous economy, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) organizations from South and Meso America met in the Ecuadorian Amazon to discuss the state of tropical forests and the role of IPLC´s sustainable initiatives. Despite all efforts, illegal timber and gold mining are still powerful drivers of deforestation and the destruction of entire landscapes in the Amazon. However, a call was made for the sustainable use of Nature, and concrete examples were presented of the actions that should be implemented to ensure sustainable forest management. IPLC organizations also agreed that Indigenous bioeconomy will be a key topic to be presented at COP30.

Read More »

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Making Sense of the NCQG Outcome from COP29: A Critical but Insufficient Step Forward for Climate Finance

By Juan Pablo Hoffmaister / Published: December 23, 2024

The UN climate talks in Baku delivered a new agreement on climate finance (the New Collective Quantified Goal, or NCQG), but it falls short of what science and justice demand. The headline target — mobilizing $1.3 trillion annually by 2035, with developed countries providing $300 billion— is only a fraction of what’s needed. For context, developing countries require an estimated $5.1-6.8 trillion through 2030 alone to address the climate crisis. 

Achieving these targets requires immediate action, well before 2035. With climate impacts accelerating and vulnerable nations already facing severe challenges, we need to build momentum quickly toward and beyond these goals. The Baku agreement takes important steps in recognizing critical climate finance quality issues —such as high borrowing costs and limited access— and provides a framework for addressing them. The launch of the “Baku to Belém Roadmap” needs to be a pathway for making near-term progress, particularly on reducing the cost of capital and improving access to finance.  

The work didn’t end in Baku. As we look toward COP30, the international community faces a critical challenge: rapidly scaling up both the quantity and quality of climate finance to unlock urgent climate action. This will require immediate, concrete steps from developed nations, international financial institutions, and the private sector to deliver resources at the speed and scale the crisis demands. Success depends on rapidly translating these commitments into action through strengthened international cooperation and innovative financial solutions.  Read More »

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Loss and Damage Finance: the FRLD and Transforming Climate Finance Quality

By Juan Pablo Hoffmaister / Published: December 20, 2024

B4 FLRD Board meeting opening by Mrs. Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, Secretary of Environment & Natural Resources of The Philippines. Photo credit: Government of the Philippines

The newly established Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) represents more than just another funding mechanism – it’s an opportunity to reimagine how climate finance can work better for countries already experiencing the extreme impacts of climate change.  

As the Fund prepares for its “start-up phase” in 2025, it has the potential to address longstanding quality issues that have kept climate finance from making positive climate impact, which are more important than ever as the international community gets for COP30 and to triple finance to developing countries, from the previous goal of USD 100 billion annually, to USD 300 billion annually by 2035 and secure efforts of all actors to work together to scale up finance to developing countries, from public and private sources, to the amount of USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035. 

Here’s how:  Read More »

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Effective participation and engagement of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities at COP29

By Bärbel Henneberger / Published: November 22, 2024
Juan Carlos Jintiach from the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, speaking on direct access to finanance for Indigenous People at COP29. Photo by Bärbel Henneberger.

Juan Carlos Jintiach from the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, speaking on direct access to finanance for Indigenous People at COP29. Photo by Bärbel Henneberger.

This post was authored by Bärbel Henneberger, Senior Partnerships Manager at the Environmental Defense Fund. 

On November 21, COP29 celebrated Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IP and LCs) as a thematic day in the Action Agenda of the Azerbaijani COP presidency. The day underscored the essential role of IP and LCs in safeguarding 80% of the world’s biodiversity and preserving 36% of intact forest landscapes.

To succeed in the fight against climate change, we must collaborate with IPs and LCs and respect their principles, culture, and methods while providing the support they need to further our shared conservation goals. We won’t succeed in conserving tropical forests without the partnership and leadership of IPs and LCs.

Climate conferences like COP29 offer a platform for IP and LCs to amplify their voices, and shape negotiations. It’s an opportunity for them to show the world how their efforts to conserve and sustainably manage their territories, which are some of Earth’s most important ecosystems, are critically important in the climate fight.

At COP29, IP and LC delegates spotlighted examples of effective participation in negotiations, policy frameworks, and innovative climate finance mechanisms. These efforts, though diverse, share a common goal: to embed Indigenous rights and knowledge systems into global climate action. Below are a few examples of Indigenous approaches to conservation efforts showcased during COP29. Critically, the world must continue to support, and learn from, these approaches well after the negotiations in Baku have ended.

Spotlight on LCIPP and the IP Caucus

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What to watch in week 2 of COP29, from the finance conversation to critical sectoral action

By Christopher Dekki / Published: November 18, 2024

This blog was authored by Christopher Dekki, Manager, Global Engagement and Partnerships.

Hopefully, COP29 delegates savored every moment of the rest day here in Baku because week 2 is already off to a hectic start. As deep divides within the negotiations remain unbridged, Azerbaijan, the newly minted COP29 Presidency, will need to increase its efforts to ensure consensus within the process and deliver a meaningful outcome.  

Little progress made on the climate finance goal 

The core outcome of this COP, a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on Climate Finance for developing countries, stands on shaky ground as massive disagreements between the Global North and South are making it difficult for negotiations on the substance of the goal to take place in earnest. Nevertheless, the result of this process will have major implications for the ability of developing countries to transform their economies and societies and realize more ambitious climate action. With finance needs estimated to be $2.4 trillion per year by 2030 in developing countries alone, the COP negotiators must urgently step up action in this arena.  

While a great deal of attention has been placed on the quantity of money that should be provided, EDF has entered the finance fray by advocating for greater attention to quality – going beyond the raw numbers and ensuring systems are put in place to make the most of every dollar spent on climate action. It is critical for delegates to work together during week 2 to break the deadlock, and deliver a climate finance goal that is concessional, accessible, and impactful. The good news is that the latest text includes many provisions taking us in this direction, laying out options that can lay the foundation for better finance, and thus better outcomes for the climate. We need negotiators to come together around the best solutions.  

Making moves on carbon credits  Read More »

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