African and Ministers from Global South Come Together to Call for Urgent Action on Nature Finance at COP16

31 October 2024

Nature Finance Alliance

press release

The Ministerial Alliance for Ambition on Nature Finance (MAANF) has today shared a statement signed by 20 Ministers of Environment from the Global South, 'Seeking Accountability on Ambition for Nature Finance.' The press conference at which this was launched can be watched online.

Released on the second day of the High-Level segment, the statement calls on countries in the Global North to:

'Act urgently to ensure that at least $20 billion per year is delivered from developed to developing countries by 2025 and that at least $30 billion per year is delivered by 2030, as agreed in the GBF.'

The statement outlines two specific requests for developed world governments here at COP16 in order to ensure this financial commitment is met:

To urgently deliver new international funding for biodiversity; And

To establish a working group of ministers of environment and finance to focus on fully achieving the $20 billion and $30 billion target on time.

Upon the statement's release, Hon. Dr. Iziaq Kunle Salako, Minister of State for Environment, Federal Republic of Nigeria, stated:

"Today, we are releasing a Ministerial Declaration endorsed by 20 countries from the Global South to call on developed countries to urgently increase their international finance commitments and to develop a roadmap and accountability mechanisms to ensure that the $20 billion commitment to developing countries will be delivered on time. This is a call to action, and this is an offer to work together to increase accountability and transparency.  Let us be united on the road to ambition – let us work hand in hand to ensure we reach our common goal of fully implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Fellow MAANF Member Hon. Jiwoh Abdulai, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Republic of Sierra Leone, at the same time impressed on those present at COP16 to recognise:

"Without sufficient funding, we will not be able to make the significant changes needed to our economies and societies to implement the goals agreed upon and ensure a future of sustainable livelihoods. And frankly, our lives depend on meeting these goals – we have no choice. We need all wealthy nations, philanthropies, and corporations to step up to the plate."

The statement, which can be found in full here, is endorsed by the following 20 countries:

Ministerial Statement Seeking Accountability on Ambition for Nature Finance

31 October 2024

Over the last year, countries from the Global South have come together to launch the Ministerial Alliance for Ambition for Nature Finance (‘the Alliance’). The Alliance is an intergovernmental group of ministers working to publicly champion achieving the nature finance targets that the world agreed to in December 2022 in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (“GBF”) and demonstrate actions that countries in the Global South are taking to increase nature finance.

As growing number of ministers of environment from the Global South joining the Alliance or supporting its objectives, and being home to the majority of the most important remaining biodiversity of our planet, we are deeply concerned by the crisis facing the natural world and the unprecedented loss of species and ecosystems.

The whole world came together two years ago to adopt the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and agreed to an ambitious plan to halt and reverse biodiversity loss – headlined by the target to protect or conserve at least 30 percent of the planet by 2030.

The emphasis for action must now be on urgently shifting our economies to respect and protect nature and closing the enormous biodiversity finance gap. Without sufficient funding, we will not be able to make the significant changes that are needed to our economies and societies to implement the goals that were agreed and ensure a future of sustainable livelihoods.

We write to you today, as our partners in this effort, to act urgently to ensure that at least $20 billion per year is delivered from developed to developing countries by 2025 and that at least $30 billion per year is delivered by 2030, as agreed in the GBF. The $20 billion target is the most imminent of all the targets in the agreement. It is critical to drive protection, restoration and sustainable management policies in our countries and catalyze more funding from our treasuries and the private sector.

We are concerned that since the GBF was agreed, we have not seen a significant increase in international nature finance reach our countries.

We call on developed countries to:

1.     Urgently deliver new international funding for biodiversity and

2.     Establish a working group of ministers of environment and finance to focus on fully achieving the $20 billion and $30 billion target on time.

We also call on developed countries to take urgent measures to ensure that reporting on international biodiversity finance is significantly improved. Currently, the only up-to-date official tally of international biodiversity finance is from before the GBF was signed. We need timeliness and transparency in reporting international biodiversity finance so that we can know how much new finance has been given since COP15, especially the funding for projects that have biodiversity as its principal focus.

COP15 created momentum in our work to safeguard global biodiversity. It is essential that we now build on this trust between nations and maintain a high level of urgency to deliver our goals. We look forward to doing our part in the Global South and hope to work more closely with the Global North to meet all of the GBF’s finance targets and ensure that our ambitious plans for nature succeed.

Endorsed by Ministers of Environment from:

1.       Burkina Faso

2.       Cambodia

3.       Cameroon

4.       Côte d’Ivoire

5.       Dominica

6.       Ethiopia

7.       The Gambia

8.       Grenada

9.       Guinea

10.     Liberia

11.     Madagascar

12.     Nigeria

13.     St. Kitts and Nevis

14.     Samoa

15.     Sierra Leone

16.     Somalia

17.     South Sudan

18.     Togo

19.     Vanuatu

20.     Zambia