Cali, Colombia, Greenpeace welcomes COP16's establishment of a new body dedicated to Indigenous Peoples' rights, roles, territories and knowledge, progress on ocean protections, and on integration of biodiversity and climate action. But a last-minute and anti-climatic suspension of negotiations leaves disappointment about the still too long road ahead about closing the finance gap.
An Lambrechts, Head of Greenpeace COP16 delegation said: "Governments in Cali put forward plans to protect nature but were unable to mobilise the money to actually do it. Biodiversity finance remains stalled after a deafening absence of credible finance pledges from wealthy governments and unprecedented corporate lobbying. But big pharma and big agribusiness failed to block a game-changing deal on corporate responsibility to pay up for nature protections. Nature is collapsing, and people all over the world should not have to continue paying the price."
"Closing the finance gap was not merely some moral obligation but necessary to the protection of people and nature that grows more urgent each day. With one week to go until COP29 begins, the non-decision on a fund damages trust between Global South and North countries. The only way forward is protecting the ecosystems that sustain our lives and building the political bridge between biodiversity and climate action."
Estefania Gonzalez, Deputy Campaigns Director, Greenpeace Andino said: "Colombia was able to take advantage of COP16 to bring much of the priority agenda of the Global South to the centre of the negotiations, fighting to the last minute to reach agreements on financing. The establishment of a dedicated body for Indigenous peoples and local communities, the recognition of Afro-descendant communities within the convention, and progress on the oceans agenda are hugely important advances during long and challenging negotiations."
"It is essential that these agreements become the foundation for concrete actions to protect nature, especially in our region. With Brazil's COP30 on the horizon, Latin America cannot afford anymore biodiversity loss, and we need to effectively implement the agreements adopted at the global level. The resource mobilisation committed by developed countries must be fulfilled immediately without further excuses. It is unacceptable that rich countries, besides failing to meet the $20 billion commitment, were unwilling to seek consensus on one of the most crucial issues: financing."
