Leveraging ambition for 30x30 and beyond: The road to CBD COP16

On the afternoon of September 24th, during United Nations General Assembly in New York, the governments of Bhutan, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, European Union, France, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, United Kingdom, United States of America, in partnership with the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People (HAC for N&P) Secretariat, the Global Ocean Alliance, the Leaders Pledge for Nature, Alliance Biodiversity International – CIAT, Blue Nature Alliance, Bezos Earth Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Campaign for Nature, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, Pew Charitable Trusts, the Secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), UN Development Program (UNDP), UNEP-WCMC, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Wyss Foundation are co-organizing one closed ministerial roundtable followed by a high-level reception with wider participation featuring Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers, Indigenous leaders and high-level representatives from the business sector to leverage ambitious action on biodiversity and showcase new financial pledges and spatial action announcements related to the conservation of 30% of the planet by 2030 and other Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) commitments.

The landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was agreed at CBD COP15 nearly two years ago, with the mission to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity by 2030 and one of the flagship goals was the 30×30 target.

With less than 6 years left to achieve this mission and deliver on this target, UNGA provides a unique opportunity in the run-up to CBD COP16, taking place in October 2024 in Cali, Colombia, UNFCCC COP29, taking place in November 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan, and UNCCD COP16, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December 2024. The aforementioned COPs are an opportunity for Governments and partners to deliver progress on National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) as well as national targets and join forces to increase the visibility and political attention on the crisis of biodiversity loss at the highest level and re-affirm the need to mainstream biodiversity into other processes to achieve successful implementation of the K-M GBF.

By convening a dedicated ministerial/high-level roundtable with the theme of finance for biodiversity and hosting a high-level reception showcasing challenges and progress on the K-M GBF and more specifically 30×30, we will build on the group’s previous experience in organizing high-level events for 5 previous UNGAs and on the growing interest from governments and partners to efficiently and swiftly implement the K-M GBF throughout all levels of government and society. These events will be the first in a series of extended high-level gatherings and provided a half-day opportunity to focus on biodiversity and the crisis caused by its unprecedented loss. This afternoon will provide a critical opportunity to focus on biodiversity against the background of the three Rio Conventions COPs taking place in the fall and in the margins of the Summit of the Future.