Delegates convened in Cali, Colombia, in October 2024 with the expectation of reviewing progress under the Kunming‑Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Instead, the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference experienced a partial collapse, prompting an extended meeting in Rome, Italy, from 25 to 27 February 2025.
Over three intensive days, national delegations emerged with a concrete financial roadmap aimed at supporting the framework’s 2030 conservation targets. The Kunming‑Montreal agreement, adopted in 2022, set ambitious goals for preserving the planet’s biodiversity. While the monitoring framework established at the Cali conference allowed parties to track their implementation efforts, it did not resolve the critical issue of financing.
Developing nations—home to the majority of the world’s remaining biodiversity—repeatedly emphasized that without adequate resources they could not meet the agreed‑upon targets. At the Cali meeting, which ran from 21 October to 1 November 2024, the discussion on funding stalled.
The conference’s primary purpose was to serve as a checkpoint for national biodiversity plans, enabling parties to compare progress and sustain momentum. However, the negotiations fractured, leaving the financial component unresolved and pushing the decisive work to the subsequent Rome session. In Rome, negotiators succeeded where Cali had faltered.
The parties committed to mobilise **US$200 billion each year** by 2030 to finance the implementation of the biodiversity targets. This figure forms the centerpiece of the newly adopted financial roadmap, outlining mechanisms, timelines and the scale of contributions required from developed countries.
The agreement marks a clear pledge to assist developing nations, which had warned that conservation goals without monetary support amounted to “empty promises.” By linking the monitoring framework—used to identify shortfalls—with a defined funding stream, the Rome outcome aims to synchronize measurement and financing, giving countries a tangible path to achieve their biodiversity obligations. While the Rome gathering was not a full Conference of the Parties (COP) but rather an extension and “cleanup” session, its impact is significant. The failure to reach a financial accord in Cali would have left the framework without a viable implementation strategy.
The Rome decision therefore represents a pivotal step, converting the abstract commitment of the Kunming‑Montreal framework into a quantifiable financial promise. Nevertheless, the history of international environmental agreements suggests that translating pledged sums into actual disbursements can be challenging.
Past commitments have often been celebrated publicly only to be delayed, renegotiated, or overlooked. The $200 billion annual target now sits on paper, and its effectiveness will ultimately depend on the political will of donor nations to honour the promise. For developed countries, the Rome commitment serves as a test of credibility, reinforcing earlier assurances with a specific amount and deadline.
For developing nations, the agreed financing offers a lifeline to pursue the conservation actions required under the framework. In sum, three distinct gatherings have shaped the current landscape: the original Cali conference that established monitoring metrics, the Rome extension that delivered a funding formula, and the overarching Kunming‑Montreal framework that set the biodiversity objectives.
With the financial roadmap now in place, the next phase will involve mobilising the pledged resources and translating them into concrete conservation outcomes worldwide.
