- Formal negotiations
- Finance
- Global review
- Global report
- Digital sequence information
- Harmful subsidies
- Marine biodiversity
- Planning, monitoring, reporting and review
- Article 8(j) implementation
- Biodiversity and climate change
- Links with other bodies
- Around the COP
- Armenian presidency
- Protests
- Lobbying and influence
- Carbon and biodiversity markets
The UK will miss the UN’s deadline to publish a new national plan for how it will address nature loss ahead of the COP16 biodiversity summit in Colombia this month, Carbon Brief understands.
At COP15 in 2022, countries agreed to submit new national nature plans – known as “national biodiversity strategies and action plans”, or NBSAPs – “ahead” of COP16, which will take place in Cali from 21 October to 1 November.
In December 2023 at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, the UK pledged to publish its nature strategy by May of this year – and even organised a launch event at Wicken Fen nature reserve in Cambridge for that month – before a change of government in Scotland forced a postponement.
The release of the strategy was delayed further by a UK general election in July – and the new Labour government now intends to publish it in January, Carbon Brief understands.
The missed deadline comes after UK foreign secretary David Lammy said that the government would prioritise action against biodiversity loss, describing it as a “more fundamental threat” than terrorism to the nation.
Although it will not now publish a new NBSAP before COP16, the UK did provide the UN with a technical document, known as a national target submission, in place of its strategy.
The UK made this submission at the beginning of August in order to be included in the documents being prepared for COP16, Carbon Brief understands.
Biodiversity in the balance
At COP15 in 2022, nations signed a landmark agreement called the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which aims to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. It is often described as the “Paris Agreement for nature”.
As part of the agreement, countries agreed to submit new NBSAPs by COP16 in October 2024.
NBSAPs are blueprints for how individual countries plan to tackle biodiversity loss within their borders, as well as ensure they meet the international targets outlined in the GBF.
They are similar to nationally determined contributions (NDCs), plans that outline how individual countries envisage meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. However, a key difference is that countries are legally obliged to submit NDCs, but not NBSAPs.
Carbon Brief analysis shows that most countries are set to miss the deadline for submitting new NBSAPs. This includes COP16 host Colombia and Azerbaijan, which recently made a formal bid to host COP17 in 2026. (The US is not a signatory to the GBF.)
Missing the target time could be particularly damaging for the UK’s reputation at the negotiations. It campaigned for an ambitious agreement at COP15 and is the oceans lead of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People group of nations.
While it will not publish a new NBSAP, the UK did provide the COP16 secretariat with a national target submission. (A number of countries that missed the NBSAP deadline instead submitted new national targets.)
This submission includes information on how the UK will aim to meet the 23 targets outlined in the GBF.
The submission says that the UK will “ensure and enable” the protection of 30% of the UK’s land and seas by 2030, as well as a pledge to restore 500,000 hectares of “wildlife-rich habitat” outside of protected areas by 2042.
In addition, it says the UK will “substantially and progressively” increase financial resources available to developing countries for tackling biodiversity loss, adding that the UK will contribute to “global targets” of mobilising at least $200bn per year by 2030.
The submission also says that the UK will take action to ensure fair and equitable benefit sharing from “digital sequence information” (DSI).
(DSI is a term for how countries share and use genetic information from biological resources, such as for the creation of new drugs and products. It is a major area of disagreement in international negotiations.)
When approached about missing the deadline for producing a new NBSAP ahead of COP16, a spokesperson for the Department for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) referred to the UK’s national target submission, saying:
“Nature and our wildlife underpin everything – the economy, food, health and society. That is why we have submitted the UK’s biodiversity targets to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), aligning us with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and committing us to achieve the agreements made at COP15.”
However, Adrian Ramsay, an MP and co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, said the government should not be arriving at COP16 “empty handed”, telling Carbon Brief:
“It is extremely disappointing to learn that the UK will fail to submit its national nature strategy ahead of crucial COP16 talks. These should be key priorities for the government, not issues to be kicked into the long grass.”
Meg Randles, global political lead on oceans for the NGO Greenpeace, tells Carbon Brief that it is “concerning” that the UK will not publish a nature strategy ahead of COP16, adding:
“Given how quickly the natural world is disappearing, it’s concerning that the UK government has not been more visible on this issue. As one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth, it is vital we get our own house in order to bolster the global goal of protecting at least 30% of land and sea by 2030.
“[The UK] must follow up with a full and updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and by providing our fair share of funds to deliver it as soon as possible.”
The post UK misses deadline to submit nature pledge ahead of UN COP16 biodiversity summit appeared first on Carbon Brief.
UK misses deadline to submit nature pledge ahead of UN COP16 biodiversity summit
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Prepared by a coalition of nine Western Australian union, industry, conservation, and community organisations—including UnionsWA, the Conservation Council WA, and the Smart Energy Council—the WA Clean Energy, Jobs & Industry Plan provides a practical roadmap to transform Western Australia into a clean energy powerhouse while creating thousands of secure local jobs.
Western Australia stands at a pivotal crossroads: lead the global clean energy economy or watch investment, future industries, and secure jobs go elsewhere. The WA Clean Energy, Jobs & Industry Plan outlines a transformative blueprint to harness the state’s world-class solar and wind resources. Discover how legislated renewable targets, green iron manufacturing, and a dedicated regional training strategy can generate tens of thousands of local jobs, lower household bills, and build a resilient, net-zero future for all Western Australians.
WA needs a clear and forward-thinking plan if it is going to become a competitive renewable energy powerhouse and maintain its economic strength through the energy transition.
“Western Australians know a faster renewable energy transition will lower their household expenses and prevent harmful climate pollution. But the community also needs clear direction to ensure this transition will create jobs, lower costs and not cause undue environmental harm.
“Here, sectors representing a broad range of interests have laid the groundwork for those outcomes, clearly outlining what is needed to create a future for WA that is good for the environment, for the climate, for workers and for the economy.
Summary
The WA Clean Energy, Jobs & Industry Plan sets out a strategic roadmap to position Western Australia as a global clean energy superpower while creating thousands of secure local jobs.
The report establishes three overarching goals:
- Creating local employment.
- Maintaining industrial competitiveness.
- Lowering household energy costs
To realize this vision, the framework details actionable measures to follow on from the recent WA Government announcement of a 75% Renewable Energy Target by 2031 for the South West Interconnected System. This includes developing a statewide Renewable Energy Target, coordinating statewide workforce and training pipelines, strategically planning regional infrastructure to safeguard high-value biodiversity and cultural heritage, and ensuring equitable benefit-sharing through household electrification incentives and First Nations equity partnerships. Ultimately, the plan highlights that establishing clear policy and regulatory certainty will unlock lower energy bills, boost power reliability, and secure the state’s global competitiveness in emerging green commodity export markets.
Key Findings
- Statewide Renewable Energy Target and Emissions Reduction Targets: The report calls for a statewide RET and 1.5°C aligned emission reduction targets to remove policy risk, lower capital costs, and attract clean energy investment.
- Transformative Job Creation: Accelerating the transition offers massive employment prospects, including up to 8,800 solar and battery jobs by 2050, as well as 24,000 ongoing and 11,000 construction jobs in a commercial green iron industry.
- Industrial Electrification & Competitiveness: Requiring large gas users to adopt binding electrification timetables and providing concessional financing will protect existing energy-intensive manufacturers from rising energy costs and impending domestic gas shortfalls.
- Green Commodity Export Leadership: Western Australia can build new export markets in green iron, green ammonia, and offshore oil/gas decommissioning by constructing shared common-user infrastructure and setting dedicated Green Commodity Export Targets.
- Coordinated Workforce & Training Pipeline: To address critical skill shortages the plan recommends establishing a WA Clean Energy Jobs Plan 2050, three regional training hubs, and dedicated pathways for female and under-represented apprentices.
- Environmental Safeguards & Community Benefits: Fast-tracked development must be paired with State Planning Policies that avoid high-biodiversity and cultural heritage lands, mandate new data centres to run on additional renewable power, and deliver household electrification rebates and First Nations equity partnerships.
What you can do
WA has an opportunity to lead on sustainable, clean energy and associated industries. You can help by:
- Sending an email to Environment Minister Murray Watt and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, calling on them to reject Browse.
- Sharing this story to help more Australians understand what’s at stake.
- Encouraging your friends and family to take action.
Countries have completed the first “global review” of their progress towards reversing nature loss by 2030 at the COP17 biodiversity talks in Yerevan, Armenia.
The review “notes with deep concern” that, unless action is “rapidly accelerated”, the goal to reverse nature loss and meet a set of 23 targets by 2030 “will not be achieved”.
It “urges” countries to accelerate action, including by “increased ambition in addressing the gaps”.
Much of the discussions in Yerevan focused on how to raise the necessary funds to help developing countries protect nature.
Some major economies pushed to expand the range of nations that are expected to provide finance, with countries agreeing at the end of the two weeks of talks that non-donors that want to contribute can “signal interest” before COP18.
This came after developed countries failed to meet a target to significantly ramp up nature finance over the last few years.
It also came as a landmark fund agreed at COP16 in Colombia to pay communities for the genetic resources derived from nature stands nearly empty two years on.
The Yerevan talks marked the halfway point of the “Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework” (GBF), the “Paris Agreement for nature” first made in 2022 and due to be achieved by 2030.
During the nearly 12-hour-long final plenary, countries voted for Quito, Ecuador, to host the COP18 nature talks, which will be held in 2028.
Countries managed to sign off on all the major negotiation texts, marking a stark contrast to COP16, which ran so far over time that the Colombian presidency lost “quorum”, forcing talks to resume in Rome months later.
Below, Carbon Brief has detailed analysis of all of the key outcomes from COP17.