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Closing plenary of the recent Kunming Dialogue. Credit: ENB-IISD/Anastasia Rodopoulou

By Stella Paul
KUNMING, China, Sep 17 2026 (IPS)

The world may have enough money to protect nature. The bigger problem, according to the head of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), is that too much of it is still being spent on activities that destroy it.

With just four years left to meet the world’s 2030 biodiversity goals, Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the CBD, said governments must urgently change where money flows if they are to slow the loss of nature.

Her warning comes just weeks before governments meet in Yerevan, Armenia, for COP17, the UN biodiversity conference scheduled for October 19-30.

Speaking at a press conference organised by the CBD Secretariat on September 11 – after the three-day Kunming Dialogue, Schomaker said governments need to redirect financial flows and reform incentives that encourage activities harmful to nature. Without such changes, she warned, progress under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) will remain too slow.

What’s Slowing Biodiversity Action?

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in Montreal in 2022, sets 23 targets for protecting and restoring biodiversity by 2030. Since its adoption, governments have been carrying out the first-ever global stocktake of how the framework is being implemented, examining progress across countries and individual targets.

The stocktake began after COP16 and is looking at the full picture of implementation, from the targets countries have set for themselves to the policies, plans, finance and other measures they are putting in place to achieve them. Its findings are being compiled in the forthcoming State of Biodiversity Action report, which will present the final global assessment at COP17.

The three-day Kunming Dialogue, held from Sept. 7 to 9, offered governments, scientists, Indigenous Peoples, youth representatives and civil society organisations an early look at the trends emerging from this stocktake. While more than 70 percent of countries have submitted national reports and over 90 percent have established biodiversity targets aligned with the global framework, the emerging picture is far less encouraging. Progress remains uneven, with implementation lagging behind the scale and pace needed to achieve the 23 targets by 2030. The emerging findings suggest that global efforts are not yet moving fast enough or at the scale needed to achieve the 23 targets by 2030. In other words, while countries have made progress in setting commitments, implementation remains well behind what is required.

“Progress is being made clearly, but it is uneven, and it is clearly also not at the pace and scale required,” Schomaker told IPS.

Gap Between Global Goals and National Action

One of the biggest problems is that biodiversity commitments have not yet been fully carried into national policies, budgets and economic decisions.

According to Schomaker, some of the largest gaps are in finance, resource mobilisation and efforts to bring biodiversity into the work of government ministries and economic sectors beyond the environment.

Jillian Campbell, Head of Planning, Monitoring and Knowledge at the CBD Secretariat, said the problem is not that countries have failed to set targets. Rather, there is often a gap between what was agreed globally and what countries have committed to doing at home.

“Most parties have set national targets covering almost every global target. However, the national targets often don’t cover the full extent of the global targets,” she told IPS.

As countries turned the global framework into their own national plans, some of its ambition was lost along the way. This is particularly visible in areas where action depends on ministries beyond the environment, including finance, agriculture, infrastructure and development.

That raises a bigger question — and one that is likely to be central at COP17: is the problem really a lack of money for biodiversity, or is it where existing money is going?

For Schomaker, the answer is clear.

“The biggest elephant in the room of all of that is the misalignment of financial systems,” she told IPS. “There is enough money around in the world economy. The question is, where does that money go?”

Money Flowing in the Wrong Direction

Governments, businesses and financial institutions continue to channel large amounts of money into activities that damage ecosystems, even as they commit themselves to protecting nature.

Changing that pattern, Schomaker said, should be one of the central priorities for COP17.

The discussions in Kunming highlighted a growing understanding that biodiversity loss is not caused only by what happens in forests, rivers and oceans. It is also shaped by decisions made in boardrooms, government ministries and financial institutions.

Participants pointed to subsidies, investments and other financial incentives that continue to make activities harmful to nature more attractive or profitable.

Asad Naqvi, Secretary of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation, said the answer to the biodiversity funding problem may therefore lie partly in changing how existing money is used rather than simply searching for new sources of funding.

He noted that governments are still spending large sums on incentives that undermine biodiversity, particularly through harmful subsidies in agriculture and fossil fuels. Redirecting those resources, he suggested, could help close financing gaps while addressing some of the root causes of nature loss.

Biodiversity Beyond Environment Policy

Finance, however, is only part of the challenge.

The Kunming Dialogue also highlighted the need for governments to treat biodiversity as an issue that cuts across the entire economy, rather than something that belongs mainly to environment ministries.

Agriculture, finance, infrastructure and development ministries all make decisions that can either protect or damage ecosystems. Unless biodiversity is considered in those decisions, governments may find themselves trying to repair environmental damage with one hand while creating more of it with the other.

That broader approach is expected to be an important part of the discussions at COP17.

For many observers, the significance of COP17 will depend on how governments respond to the findings of the State of Biodiversity Action report — and whether they can turn commitments into action faster.

The conference is expected to focus on speeding up implementation, closing finance gaps and tackling the targets where progress remains furthest behind.

As delegates prepare to meet in Yerevan, the debate is moving beyond whether governments support the global biodiversity framework.

With only four years left before the 2030 deadline, bringing finance into line with the needs of nature may become one of the defining tests of the global biodiversity agenda.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

 

 

 

In a changing Europe, ELIAMEP analysts assess the priorities highlighted by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and what was missing from her agenda. (in Greek)

 

• The ESS should provide a common strategic direction across defence, resilience, economic security, critical infrastructure and external partnerships, with greater emphasis on faster decision-making and implementation.
• A 360-degree approach should be combined with a differentiated assessment of threats, reflecting their immediacy, severity and systemic effects.
• The ESS should strengthen coordination across existing security instruments through faster response mechanisms, stronger preparedness and improved intelligence coordination.
• The paper proposes a Security and Defence Union with a ministerial Security and Defence Council to strengthen political coordination and shorten decision cycles.
• Maritime security should become a more explicit part of the ESS, with particular attention to the Eastern Mediterranean, maritime domain awareness and the protection of critical maritime and seabed infrastructure.
• Further priorities include Western Balkan defence integration, climate preparedness, external resilience to hybrid threats and sustained support for Ukraine.

The Policy paper was edited by: Elena Lazarou, Director General, ELIAMEP; Panayotis Tsakonas, Senior Research Fellow, Head, Foreign Policy & Security Programme, ELIAMEP; Professor, University of Athens; Αpostolos Samaras, Research Fellow at the European Programme ‘Ariane Condellis’, ELIAMEP; Athina Fatsea, Research Assistant to the Director General; European Programme Manager, ELIAMEP and Panos Politis Lamprou, Research Fellow, Defence Hub, ELIAMEP.

Contributions were made by (in alphabetical order): Ino Afentouli, Ioannis Armakolas, Spyros Blavoukos, Constantine Capsaskis, Athina Fatsea, Dimitris Gavalas, Ioannis N. Grigoriadis, Triantafyllos Karatrantos, Mihalis Kritikos, Elena Lazarou, Michalis Mathioulakis, Panos Politis Lamprou, Apostolos Samaras and Dimitris Tsarouhas.

Les députés demandent une réponse européenne coordonnée aux réseaux de trafic de drogue, incluant surveillance maritime, sûreté portuaire, coopération internationale et prévention.
Commission des libertés civiles, de la justice et des affaires intérieures

Source : © Union européenne, 2026 - PE

MEPs demand a coordinated European response to drug trafficking networks spanning maritime surveillance, port security, international cooperation and prevention.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

MEPs demand a coordinated European response to drug trafficking networks spanning maritime surveillance, port security, international cooperation and prevention.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

MEPs demand a coordinated European response to drug trafficking networks spanning maritime surveillance, port security, international cooperation and prevention.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

MEPs demand a coordinated European response to drug trafficking networks spanning maritime surveillance, port security, international cooperation and prevention.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Jeudi, le Parlement a adopté des propositions visant à obliger les plateformes, les pays de l’Union et la Commission à garantir un environnement en ligne sûr pour les jeunes en Europe.
Commission de la culture et de l'éducation

Source : © Union européenne, 2026 - PE

Am Donnerstag nahm das Parlament Vorschläge an, die soziale Medien, EU-Staaten und die Kommission dazu verpflichten sollen, die digitale Welt für junge Menschen sicherer zu machen.
Ausschuss für Kultur und Bildung

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2026 - EP

A Parlament javaslatokat fogadott el, amelyek arra köteleznék a platformokat, a tagállamokat és a Bizottságot, hogy biztosítsák az EU-ban élő fiataloknak a biztonságos online környezetet.
Kulturális és Oktatási Bizottság

Forrás : © Európai Unió, 2026 - EP

On Thursday, Parliament adopted proposals to oblige platforms, EU countries and the Commission to guarantee a safe online environment for young people in the EU.
Committee on Culture and Education

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

On Thursday, Parliament adopted proposals to oblige platforms, EU countries and the Commission to guarantee a safe online environment for young people in the EU.
Committee on Culture and Education

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Jeudi, le Parlement a adopté trois résolutions sur la situation des droits humains à Hong-Kong, à Cuba et en Zambie.

Source : © Union européenne, 2026 - PE

On Thursday, Parliament adopted three resolutions on the human rights situation in Hong Kong, Cuba and Zambia.

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

On Thursday, Parliament adopted three resolutions on the human rights situation in Hong Kong, Cuba and Zambia.

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

On Thursday, Parliament adopted three resolutions on the human rights situation in Hong Kong, Cuba and Zambia.

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

On Thursday, Parliament adopted three resolutions on the human rights situation in Hong Kong, Cuba and Zambia.

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Gender discrimination begins early and accumulates over time, leading to a narrowing of job opportunities and loss of belonging as they get older. Credit: Shutterstock

By Kim Samuel and Bridget Sleap
TORONTO / LONDON, Sep 17 2026 (IPS)

Chung Sun-cha started collecting cardboard, plastic, and other recycling materials off the streets of Incheon, South Korea, to sell when she was in her mid-70s. She is now 87. Without an adequate pension, Chung worked six days a week, sometimes seven, in the wind, rain, and snow until she fell and broke her arm while working in 2025. “I couldn’t find any other work because of my age,” she said.

Chung Sun-cha is not alone. In 2024-2025, Human Rights Watch interviewed 41 women ages 28 to 87 in researching working conditions for women in South Korea. They described how their career opportunities narrowed drastically from their 40s onward to a handful of low-paid, precarious jobs that often caused physical and mental harm, and eroded their sense of belonging.

Work by Belonging Forum in the UK indicates that this loss of belonging in older age is not confined to South Korea. Data from the Belonging Forum’s UK-wide 2026 Belonging Barometer reveals that nearly 19 percent of people ages 65 and older reported that they “not really” or “not at all” feel they belong. Furthermore, 16 percent of respondents 65 and older said they felt lonely “often or some of the time.”

October 1 marks the annual International Day of Older Persons. The United Nations theme for 2026 is “Rethinking Longevity.” Longer lives may bring increased opportunities, including in employment, but for many women, gender discrimination begins early and accumulates over time, leading to a narrowing of job opportunities and loss of belonging as they get older.

These entrenched, negative attitudes, known as “gendered ageism,” coupled with discriminatory employment policies and practices, lock women out of the broader workforce as they age, and isolate them in narrow and undervalued roles

Governments have a vital opportunity when they meet in October at the United Nations in Geneva to continue work on a new international treaty on the rights of older people. The proposed treaty should not merely add age-specific language to existing rights; it should fundamentally reimagine how we value older age.

In South Korea, Jung Kyong-sook, 55, worked as a bookkeeper before stopping work in 1994 to raise her three children. When she re-entered the workforce in 2013, the door was largely shut: “Most of us [women] in our 50s go to work in supermarkets as a cashier or cook in schools. We can’t really pursue our career.”

These outcomes stem from systemic gender and age discrimination that restrict women’s economic opportunities and reduce their sense of belonging and value in society. These entrenched, negative attitudes, known as “gendered ageism,” coupled with discriminatory employment policies and practices, lock women out of the broader workforce as they age, and isolate them in narrow and undervalued roles.

Even the government reflects these prejudices. Jobs the Ministry of Employment and Labor promotes for women in their 30s to 50s on Work24, its online hiring platform, revolve predominantly around beauty, caregiving, and education. The platform funnels women ages 50 or over into low-paid care work, cleaning, kitchen assistance, cooking, and social service jobs, reflecting societal expectations.

For many older women, work is necessary for survival, not a matter of choice. In 2025, women in their late 50s in South Korea faced a 50 percent gender pay gap. Women eligible for the National Old Age Pension faced an average gender pension gap of 47 percent. The average monthly pension for women was just KRW367,000 (£200), 18 percent of the national minimum wage.

Yet work offers something beyond economic survival. Work also gives many of the older women we interviewed a sense of purpose, agency, and belonging. This sense of purpose is a key determinant of the internationally protected right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Being systematically segregated into ever-narrowing workplaces simply for being a woman considered “too old” – undermines this sense of belonging.

Research from the Belonging Forum shows that belonging does not happen by accident. It is built or broken by the systems, services, and environments that surround people throughout their lives. It depends on access to economic and social structures that determine whether older people have the time, resources, support, and security to participate in family and community life on an equal footing.

Older people can experience an erosion of dignity when society fails to recognize their equal rights and inherent value, operating under the ageist assumption that older age is a period of inevitable decline rather than continued development. The UK Belonging Barometer found that approximately 51 percent of respondents 65 and older “rarely/never” feel that they are working together with others for mutual benefit – pointing to the risk of social marginalization and exclusion in older age.

By embedding dignity, inclusion, equality, economic security, and belonging in the international treaty, we can ensure that women like Chung Sun-cha and Jung Kyong-sook are no longer treated as invisible low-wage workers, but instead as active and valued rights holders thriving in older age, in line with spirit of the International Day of Older Persons.

 

Kim Samuel is founder and chief architect at the Belonging Forum. Bridget Sleap is senior researcher on the rights of older people at Human Rights Watch.