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European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera at 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) Yerevan, 16 October 2026 Dear Prime Minister, Pashinyan, Dear Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, Dear Heads of State and Government, Dear colleagues and dear friends of biodiversity, Good aftern...
European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera at 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) Yerevan, 16 October 2026 Dear Prime Minister, Pashinyan, Dear Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, Dear Heads of State and Government, Dear colleagues and dear friends of biodiversity, Good afternoon. Thank you for bringing us together in Yerevan and for your very warm welcome at such an important moment for the global biodiversity agenda. We are all proud of our nature and committed to preserving and restoring it. This is the moment to take stock, aware that our societies depend on healthy ecosystems and that losing them poses a systemic risk to our societies. 55% of global GDP is highly dependent on nature, with estimated annual losses of US$10 trillion. More than 75% of global food crops rely on pollinators, and their decline directly threatens global food security. Over half of modern medicines are derived from natural sources. Water is the most precious resource for people, food, and well-being. Around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions are linked to land use, land-use change, and forestry. Healthy ecosystems are our strongest and most cost-efficient defence, but they are also the foundation of human prosperity. So, protecting and restoring biodiversity is an investment in our well-being, in peace, in our future, in our economies and in future generations. It is about preventing future pandemics and developing new medicines. It is about mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change. It is about ensuring our water and food security. And it is about protecting the natural resources on which every single sector of our economy and our communities rely. The Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was created to deliver real momentum. Our priority is to turn the ambition we agreed on back in 2022 into delivery. Since 2024, we have seen significant efforts and major developments, such as the High Seas Treaty, which is key to protecting ocean biodiversity. But we still lack progress on the plastics treaty. The first global review of implementation is clear: we need to accelerate action if we want to reach the goals we set back in Montreal. Bending the curve of biodiversity loss requires a real shift at the global level, but also at the local scale. For the European Union, credibility abroad starts with delivery at home. This requires action and a focus on identifying where we lag behind and where we need to close the gaps. We are stepping up our own efforts through the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. Our Nature Restoration Law turns our ambition into concrete legal obligations and national restoration plans. These plans need to strengthen resilience, support sustainable farming and water management, and reduce future losses from floods and droughts. Globally, the European Union is scaling up financial support and creating the Ocean Eye Initiative to advance scientific knowledge, boost the blue economy and protect the ocean's health. We also call on others to take action. Finance is key because, without adequate resources, implementation will stall. This is why we must deliver the roadmap agreed at COP16 in Cali, work towards a permanent financial mechanism and mobilise funding from all sources, with a broader donor base. And there is good news: international public finance for biodiversity increased by 94% in 2024 compared with the period 2018–2020, according to OECD data. In the European Union, we are on track to double our international biodiversity finance to €7 billion over the period 2021–2027, and 35% of our next budget will contribute to climate and environmental objectives. I am very pleased to announce today that the European contribution to the flagship NaturAfrica initiative has reached a total of €1.6 billion, which is €200 million more than the initial commitment. New funding this year is going to the Greater Zakouma landscape in Chad, Fouta Djallon in Guinea, as well as other major transboundary landscapes in the Congo Basin and southern Africa. I take this opportunity to welcome the replenishment of the Global Environment Facility and to remind us of the important role that development banks play in supporting more nature-positive investments across sectors. We count on the Global Environment Facility and multilateral development banks to help close the international finance gap. But this is not only about mobilising more money; it is also about changing where money goes. UNEP estimates that nature-negative finance reached US$7.3 trillion in 2023. That is almost 30 times what we invest in nature-based solutions. We cannot keep financing the destruction of nature with one hand and paying for its repair with the other. We have to use public finance better, reform harmful subsidies, and give investors the clarity they need to invest. We need to explore high-integrity nature credits with strong safeguards and fair benefit-sharing with local communities. But to achieve that, we need to do much more. We are promoting a sustainable finance taxonomy and strengthening international cooperation in this field by launching a Group of Friends on Nature Credits at this COP. This is why we want to make the Cali Fund work and make it attractive for companies to contribute. A pilot phase could build trust and show that it delivers. In these challenging geopolitical times, we need transparent and accountable multilateral governance to share the benefits of digital sequence information. It may be time to look ahead at what Artificial Intelligence (AI) means for this field and to what extent we can ensure the healthy, sound and safe development of AI, consistent with planetary boundaries. Biodiversity cannot be protected by governments alone. We need local communities and Indigenous Peoples, civil society and other stakeholders as essential partners in our endeavour. Women are particularly important in this endeavour, and they are also particularly committed and concerned. Young people represent the future, as they will have to face the legacy we leave. Therefore, their voices need to be heard. Their full and effective participation is a condition for success, especially as the new subsidiary body on Article 8(j) takes shape. Let me conclude by welcoming Armenia's strong emphasis on action, inclusion and political momentum through this call for action. Backing this Yerevan Call for Action should send a clear message of leadership. We expect outcomes that match the scale and urgency of this crisis. Ongoing geopolitical tensions and rapidly accelerating impacts, heatwaves, droughts, fires, water scarcity, biodiversity loss and pollution, are not separate challenges, but interconnected ones. So, what should we leave Yerevan with? Faster implementation, more finance and adequate incentives, a Cali Fund that delivers, and the real inclusion of all those who make delivery possible. The European Union is ready to play its part and support these efforts. We want to work with seriousness, openness, and determination, recognising that healthy ecosystems are indispensable for climate resilience, human prosperity, water, and food security. Let us make Yerevan the moment we move from promises to proof. Thank you very much. SPEECH/26/2191 <@rel_link@>
Speech Brief