UN CBD COP16

The 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will convene later this year. 

COP16 will be the first Biodiversity COP since the adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework, also known as The Biodiversity Plan. Governments will review the progress made to implement the Biodiversity Plan, and the level of alignment of their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) with it. At COP16, governments plan to further negotiate the monitoring framework, advance resource mobilization (in particular how the implementation will be financed) and finalize the multilateral mechanism on the fair and equitable Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources.

Attended by participants from over 190 countries, COP16 will bring together governments, observer organizations, indigenous communities, businesses, youth groups, civil society academia and the general public. 

Why is COP16 relevant for business? 

COP16 can be seen as the first implementation COP. This means it will be the COP where various actors, from governments to non-state actors like academia, cities, indigenous communities, youth groups, businesses, financial institutions and civil society will come together to share progress to date and explore plans for the future to contribute to the implementation of the Biodiversity Plan (otherwise known as the Global Biodiversity Framework).  

A united and strong voice of progressive businesses in the lead up to, and at, COP15 in Montreal in 2022 gave governments the courage to adopt strong targets. Through the Make it Mandatory campaign, more than 400 businesses and financial institutions ensured governments adopted a strong target 15, on the role of business. The voice of leading businesses will be critical at COP16 to signal to the governments that business must be part of the solution. Many are taking action to assess, commit, transform and disclose on nature, including at a sector level and by developing a nature strategy. But we all need to do more to achieve the collective goal of halting and revering nature loss by 2030. 

The business community must prioritize COP16 to:  

• Demonstrate growing momentum and leadership: All businesses have the responsibility to show up and demonstrate the actions they are taking to contribute towards achieving the targets in the Biodiversity Plan. Businesses must remain committed to this international political process which provides key milestones to take stock and push for more ambition and accountability to achieve a nature-positive world for all by 2030. 

• Engage with governments on upcoming policies and regulation: Governments are updating their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) – see the list of published NBSAPs here. These translate the Biodiversity Plan into policies and regulations at regional and national levels which has direct consequences on company operations. COP16 will create a conversation forum for all actors to discuss effective means of implementation at the global, regional, national and local level.   

• Connect with peers: COP16 will bring together businesses of all sizes, sectors and geographies. We anticipate there will be a wide range of business-specific events inside and outside the main venue to meaningfully discuss and overcome shared challenges and learn from each other to drive action. 

• Dialogue with other stakeholder groups: COP16 will convene other stakeholder groups including governments, cities, Indigenous People and Local Communities (IPLCs), academia and youth. This presents a unique opportunity for businesses to continue constructive dialogue around whole-of-society approaches to strengthen and improve their actions and strategies.  

What will be negotiated at COP16?

Work in progress, more information to come 

At COP16, the negotiations are expected to focus on three key elements for the implementation of the Biodiversity Plan (otherwise known as the Global Biodiversity Framework):  

1. The operationalization of the monitoring framework that includes the indicators for each of the 23 targets that will enable governments to report on progress.  

2. The mobilization of the financial resources needed for successful implementation, in particular how to implement Target 18 on the reform of environmentally harmful subsidies and Target 19 that commits governments to mobilize 200 billion USD per year, by 2030.  

3. Finalize the multilateral mechanism on fair and equitable Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources. 

What does the COP16 program look like? 

Work in progress, more information to come 

About the side-program  
The details of the side-program are still being defined by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) secretariat and the Colombian Presidency. However, traditionally Biodiversity COPs include an official side program for all stakeholders to contribute to the nature agenda discussion. This includes a High-level segment, official side events, a business and Biodiversity Forum, a City Summit, an IPLC Summit, as well as a series of side-events and topical discussions. These events would be a great opportunity for progressive businesses to contribute to the conference and demonstrate leadership.  

About the external program 
Bloom 24: This year, GreenBiz Group, is set to convene the annual Bloom conference alongside COP16 in Cali, Colombia, on October 24-25, 2024. Bloom 2024 will also bring together a vibrant community of thought leaders and business practitioners working to implement ambitious nature strategies through engaging sessions of problem solving, learning and networking. This session will host a group of 200 invitation-only participants to explore how companies can halt and reverse nature loss within their operations and supply chains.  

Business for Nature is one of the convening partners of Bloom 24. 

Additional insights on the external COP16 program will be provided in due course.  

Business participation at COP16 

As a global coalition, Business for Nature and its partner organizations will bring together leading businesses at COP16 who are ready to push for high ambition and accelerated government action. We will collectively demonstrate business leadership and action in this decade of implementation.  

We are currently engaging with the UN CBD secretariat and the COP16 Presidency to ensure that there are meaningful engagement opportunities for businesses to participate at COP.  

Participation Avenues:  

1. Blue Zone: The Blue Zone is an area within the main conference venue specifically designated for negotiations and dialogues between member countries and accredited observers. The blue Zone will host key events such as plenary sessions, official side events and official bilateral and multi-lateral meetings.  

   Please note: Entry to the Blue Zone is limited to official delegations from member countries, and accredited observers through a registration process.  The registration and accreditation portal will be open from May 2024. 

2. Green Zone: The green is a space outside the main conference area (Bulevar del Rio de Cali) designed to encourage the active participation of civil, society, NGOs, the private sector and other interested stakeholders. This zone is open to the public and will aim to facilitate conversations, and inspire concrete actions for biodiversity conservation and strengthen citizen participation in key environmental discussions. 

We will provide more information about the registration process and official business program for COP16 in due course.  

Interested to know more about COP16 and how to engage?

Learn how to engage with the Business for Nature coalition.

Sign our ‘Nature is everyone’s business’ Call to Action to be updated on the latest COP16 insights.  

Develop and publish a credible strategy on nature and join the ‘It’s Now for Nature’ campaign. 

Please reach out to Johanna Delmelle, COP16 Coordinator with any further questions on COP16.

We plan to organize a public webinar for all businesses interested in learning more about COP16 in June 2024.  Subscribe to our news update to find out more