Two years ago, at the COP15 UN biodiversity summit in Montreal, 196 countries agreed to set up a fund for projects to conserve and restore nature – but it has struggled to attract large contributions. Now, at COP16 in Cali, government negotiators are clashing over what to do with it.
A group of developing countries – concerned about their access to the existing fund – is pushing a proposal to establish a new fund for biodiversity under the COP. The plan is for it to replace the one created in Montreal, which is managed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and offer biodiversity-rich developing countries a bigger say in how it is run.
“Biodiversity finance should be flowing to where biodiversity is. The voice of countries bearing a greater burden should count more than it does in the GEF governance system,” Brazilian negotiator André Aranha Corrêa do Lago said at the opening session of COP16 on Monday.
Experts told Climate Home News the future of the fund could become the biggest issue for debate at the Colombia summit, adding that disagreements over the developing-country proposal were starting to obstruct progress on other finance negotiations.
COP16 confronts “huge” challenge of protecting 30% of world’s land and sea
Old divisions re-emerge
In 2022, countries decided to host the newly created Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) at the GEF – a multilateral agency co-founded by the World Bank and other UN agencies – through to 2030, with the option to extend the arrangement after that year.
Some developing nations strongly opposed the GEF as host of the fund, fearing they would not have enough influence over it, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) objecting to the entire new global nature pact agreed in Montreal due to the row about the fund.
Decisions about what to do with the fund’s money are made by a council that has 16 members from developing countries, 14 from developed countries, and two from the countries of central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
The fund is supposed to provide “enhanced access for Indigenous peoples and local communities, according to their own priorities”. But, in a recent briefing shared with Climate Home, Survival International argues that conflating Indigenous peoples and local communities is “highly problematic” – and claims the GEF does not have adequate safeguards to ensure consent from Indigenous people.
Survival International, a campaign group for the rights of tribal people, also says the fund’s portfolio “so far is dominated by UN agencies and a select handful of mostly US-based conservation organisations” and reinforces “old and failing models of top-down, colonial conservation especially through the establishment of national parks”.
This week, efforts to take management of the fund away from the GEF have resurfaced at COP16.
Brazil backs a proposal to establish a new fund designed in “an inclusive and innovative way, learning from the experience of current instruments”, Corrêa do Lago told the opening plenary. Other countries – from India and Bangladesh to South Africa and China – have also called for a more equitable and transparent approach to biodiversity funding, according to the Earth Negotiations Bulletin.
Join our COP16 WhatsApp channel for live updates from reporters on the ground
As talks ramped up during the first week of the conference in Colombia, divisions started to surface. Canada, for example, rejected the idea of a new fund during a finance session on Tuesday.
“The proposal to create a new donor-based fund or financial mechanism would serve to further fragment the biodiversity finance landscape and lead to increased administrative costs, without mobilizing new donor funding,” reads the Canadian statement.
One source inside the negotiating rooms told Climate Home News the DRC said it would not proceed with any discussions on finance until the issue of the funding mechanism was resolved.
The chair of Working Group 1, Charlotta Sörqvist from Sweden, during biodiversity finance discussions at COP16. (Photo: IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis)
“Toxic” issue
According to Thomas Pickford, UK policy and partnerships lead at The Nature Conservancy, the future of the UN biodiversity fund has “real potential to be an obstacle for progress”.
“It’s kind of become a toxic issue that we’re trying to work through,” he told Climate Home News. “There’s obviously a big disagreement between donor countries and recipient countries.”
WWF’s head of global advocacy, Bernadette Fischler Hooper, said wealthy countries could build trust by sending strong signals on their funding commitments.
Finance for the GBFF’s coffers has so far been scarce. Developed countries have pledged around $243 million, of which the fund has received nearly $194 million, with COP15 host Canada – which made the largest commitment – yet to pay in the full amount.
The pledges to the GBFF, from just a handful of countries, are only a fraction of the COP15 target for donor governments to provide $20 billion a year for biodiversity protection by 2025, rising to $30 billion by 2030.
Broader development funding from donors for efforts to protect and restore nature grew from $11.1 billion in 2021 to $15.4 billion in 2022, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – but much of it came in the form of loans.
Reform needed?
So far, the GBFF has approved 22 projects, mainly to be implemented in the Global South but nearly all managed by large accredited organisations including multilateral development banks, UN agencies and Global North green groups like WWF and Conservation International.
At COP16, some developing countries said the number of projects was low partly due to difficulties in accessing the money. In a statement during the finance talks, Uruguay noted that of 66 projects applying for the second round of GBFF grants, only 18 were approved.
WWF’s Fischler Hooper called for “flexibility and openness from countries to have a conversation about all available options and unblock the current deadlock in the negotiations” on the biodiversity funding mechanism.
Pickford of The Nature Conservancy said the main options on the table are: creating a new fund in Cali, deferring the decision until COP17 in two years’ time, doing more assessments on whether a new fund is necessary, or ratifying the current fund as the final financial instrument.
He emphasised that the GBFF so far has “nowhere near enough funding” and called for reform to how the GEF runs it.
“We want streamlined access to developing countries. For Indigenous people and local communities, it’s still too hard to access funding,” he added.
(Reporting by Sebastian Rodriguez; editing by Megan Rowling and Joe Lo)
The post At COP16, countries clash over future of global fund for nature protection appeared first on Climate Home News.
At COP16, countries clash over future of global fund for nature protection
Climate Change
DeBriefed 15 August 2025: Raging wildfires; Xi’s priorities; Factchecking the Trump climate report
Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed.
An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change.
This week
Blazing heat hits Europe
FANNING THE FLAMES: Wildfires “fanned by a heatwave and strong winds” caused havoc across southern Europe, Reuters reported. It added: “Fire has affected nearly 440,000 hectares (1,700 square miles) in the eurozone so far in 2025, double the average for the same period of the year since 2006.” Extreme heat is “breaking temperature records across Europe”, the Guardian said, with several countries reporting readings of around 40C.
HUMAN TOLL: At least three people have died in the wildfires erupting across Spain, Turkey and Albania, France24 said, adding that the fires have “displaced thousands in Greece and Albania”. Le Monde reported that a child in Italy “died of heatstroke”, while thousands were evacuated from Spain and firefighters “battled three large wildfires” in Portugal.
UK WILDFIRE RISK: The UK saw temperatures as high as 33.4C this week as England “entered its fourth heatwave”, BBC News said. The high heat is causing “nationally significant” water shortfalls, it added, “hitting farms, damaging wildlife and increasing wildfires”. The Daily Mirror noted that these conditions “could last until mid-autumn”. Scientists warn the UK faces possible “firewaves” due to climate change, BBC News also reported.
Around the world
- GRID PRESSURES: Iraq suffered a “near nationwide blackout” as elevated power demand – due to extreme temperatures of around 50C – triggered a transmission line failure, Bloomberg reported.
- ‘DIRE’ DOWN UNDER: The Australian government is keeping a climate risk assessment that contains “dire” implications for the continent “under wraps”, the Australian Financial Review said.
- EXTREME RAINFALL: Mexico City is “seeing one of its heaviest rainy seasons in years”, the Washington Post said. Downpours in the Japanese island of Kyushu “caused flooding and mudslides”, according to Politico. In Kashmir, flash floods killed 56 and left “scores missing”, the Associated Press said.
- SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION: China and Brazil agreed to “ensure the success” of COP30 in a recent phone call, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.
- PLASTIC ‘DEADLOCK’: Talks on a plastic pollution treaty have failed again at a summit in Geneva, according to the Guardian, with countries “deadlocked” on whether it should include “curbs on production and toxic chemicals”.
15
The number of times by which the most ethnically-diverse areas in England are more likely to experience extreme heat than its “least diverse” areas, according to new analysis by Carbon Brief.
Latest climate research
- As many as 13 minerals critical for low-carbon energy may face shortages under 2C pathways | Nature Climate Change
- A “scoping review” examined the impact of climate change on poor sexual and reproductive health and rights in sub-Saharan Africa | PLOS One
- A UK university cut the carbon footprint of its weekly canteen menu by 31% “without students noticing” | Nature Food
(For more, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth daily summaries of the top climate news stories on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.)
Captured
Factchecking Trump’s climate report
A report commissioned by the US government to justify rolling back climate regulations contains “at least 100 false or misleading statements”, according to a Carbon Brief factcheck involving dozens of leading climate scientists. The report, compiled in two months by five hand-picked researchers, inaccurately claims that “CO2-induced warming might be less damaging economically than commonly believed” and misleadingly states that “excessively aggressive [emissions] mitigation policies could prove more detrimental than beneficial”80
Spotlight
Does Xi Jinping care about climate change?
This week, Carbon Brief unpacks new research on Chinese president Xi Jinping’s policy priorities.
On this day in 2005, Xi Jinping, a local official in eastern China, made an unplanned speech when touring a small village – a rare occurrence in China’s highly-choreographed political culture.
In it, he observed that “lucid waters and lush mountains are mountains of silver and gold” – that is, the environment cannot be sacrificed for the sake of growth.
(The full text of the speech is not available, although Xi discussed the concept in a brief newspaper column – see below – a few days later.)
In a time where most government officials were laser-focused on delivering economic growth, this message was highly unusual.
Forward-thinking on environment
As a local official in the early 2000s, Xi endorsed the concept of “green GDP”, which integrates the value of natural resources and the environment into GDP calculations.
He also penned a regular newspaper column, 22 of which discussed environmental protection – although “climate change” was never mentioned.
This focus carried over to China’s national agenda when Xi became president.
New research from the Asia Society Policy Institute tracked policies in which Xi is reported by state media to have “personally” taken action.
It found that environmental protection is one of six topics in which he is often said to have directly steered policymaking.
Such policies include guidelines to build a “Beautiful China”, the creation of an environmental protection inspection team and the “three-north shelterbelt” afforestation programme.
“It’s important to know what Xi’s priorities are because the top leader wields outsized influence in the Chinese political system,” Neil Thomas, Asia Society Policy Institute fellow and report co-author, told Carbon Brief.
Local policymakers are “more likely” to invest resources in addressing policies they know have Xi’s attention, to increase their chances for promotion, he added.
What about climate and energy?
However, the research noted, climate and energy policies have not been publicised as bearing Xi’s personal touch.
“I think Xi prioritises environmental protection more than climate change because reducing pollution is an issue of social stability,” Thomas said, noting that “smoggy skies and polluted rivers” were more visible and more likely to trigger civil society pushback than gradual temperature increases.
The paper also said topics might not be linked to Xi personally when they are “too technical” or “politically sensitive”.
For example, Xi’s landmark decision for China to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 is widely reported as having only been made after climate modelling – facilitated by former climate envoy Xie Zhenhua – showed that this goal was achievable.
Prior to this, Xi had never spoken publicly about carbon neutrality.
Prof Alex Wang, a University of California, Los Angeles professor of law not involved in the research, noted that emphasising Xi’s personal attention may signal “top” political priorities, but not necessarily Xi’s “personal interests”.
By not emphasising climate, he said, Xi may be trying to avoid “pushing the system to overprioritise climate to the exclusion of the other priorities”.
There are other ways to know where climate ranks on the policy agenda, Thomas noted:
“Climate watchers should look at what Xi says, what Xi does and what policies Xi authorises in the name of the ‘central committee’. Is Xi talking more about climate? Is Xi establishing institutions and convening meetings that focus on climate? Is climate becoming a more prominent theme in top-level documents?”
Watch, read, listen
TRUMP EFFECT: The Columbia Energy Exchange podcast examined how pressure from US tariffs could affect India’s clean energy transition.
NAMIBIAN ‘DESTRUCTION’: The National Observer investigated the failure to address “human rights abuses and environmental destruction” claims against a Canadian oil company in Namibia.
‘RED AI’: The Network for the Digital Economy and the Environment studied the state of current research on “Red AI”, or the “negative environmental implications of AI”.
Coming up
- 17 August: Bolivian general elections
- 18-29 August: Preparatory talks on the entry into force of the “High Seas Treaty”, New York
- 18-22 August: Y20 Summit, Johannesburg
- 21 August: Advancing the “Africa clean air programme” through Africa-Asia collaboration, Yokohama
Pick of the jobs
- Lancaster Environment Centre, senior research associate: JUST Centre | Salary: £39,355-£45,413. Location: Lancaster, UK
- Environmental Justice Foundation, communications and media officer, Francophone Africa | Salary: XOF600,000-XOF800,000. Location: Dakar, Senegal
- Politico, energy & climate editor | Salary: Unknown. Location: Brussels, Belgium
- EnviroCatalysts, meteorologist | Salary: Unknown. Location: New Delhi, India
DeBriefed is edited by Daisy Dunne. Please send any tips or feedback to debriefed@carbonbrief.org.
This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s weekly DeBriefed email newsletter. Subscribe for free here.
The post DeBriefed 15 August 2025: Raging wildfires; Xi’s priorities; Factchecking the Trump climate report appeared first on Carbon Brief.
DeBriefed 15 August 2025: Raging wildfires; Xi’s priorities; Factchecking the Trump climate report
Climate Change
New York Already Denied Permits to These Gas Pipelines. Under Trump, They Could Get Greenlit
The specter of a “gas-for-wind” compromise between the governor and the White House is drawing the ire of residents as a deadline looms.
Hundreds of New Yorkers rallied against new natural gas pipelines in their state as a deadline loomed for the public to comment on a revived proposal to expand the gas pipeline that supplies downstate New York.
New York Already Denied Permits to These Gas Pipelines. Under Trump, They Could Get Greenlit
A “critical assessment” report commissioned by the Trump administration to justify a rollback of US climate regulations contains at least 100 false or misleading statements, according to a Carbon Brief factcheck involving dozens of leading climate scientists.
The report – “A critical review of impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on the US climate” – was published by the US Department of Energy (DoE) on 23 July, just days before the government laid out plans to revoke a scientific finding used as the legal basis for emissions regulation.
The executive summary of the controversial report inaccurately claims that “CO2-induced warming might be less damaging economically than commonly believed”.
It also states misleadingly that “excessively aggressive [emissions] mitigation policies could prove more detrimental than beneficial”.
Compiled in just two months by five “independent” researchers hand-selected by the climate-sceptic US secretary of energy Chris Wright, the document has sparked fierce criticism from climate scientists, who have pointed to factual errors, misrepresentation of research, messy citations and the cherry-picking of data.
Experts have also noted the authors’ track record of promoting views at odds with the mainstream understanding of climate science.
Wright’s department claims the report – which is currently open to public comment as part of a 30-day review – underwent an “internal peer-review period amongst [the] DoE’s scientific research community”.
The report is designed to provide a scientific underpinning to one flank of the Trump administration’s plans to rescind a finding that serves as the legal prerequisite for federal emissions regulation. (The second flank is about legal authority to regulate emissions.)
The “endangerment finding” – enacted by the Obama administration in 2009 – states that six greenhouse gases are contributing to the net-negative impacts of climate change and, thus, put the public in danger.
In a press release on 29 July, the US Environmental Protection Agency said “updated studies and information” set out in the new report would “challenge the assumptions” of the 2009 finding.
Carbon Brief asked a wide range of climate scientists, including those cited in the “critical review” itself, to factcheck the report’s various claims and statements.
The post Factcheck: Trump’s climate report includes more than 100 false or misleading claims appeared first on Carbon Brief.
https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-trumps-climate-report-includes-more-than-100-false-or-misleading-claims/
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