Rome, Feb 27, 2025 (AFP): Countries reached a last-minute agreement on Thursday to map out funding for biodiversity protection until 2030, breaking a deadlock at UN talks in Rome. The deal, seen as a crucial test of international cooperation amid geopolitical tensions, overcame deep divisions between rich and developing nations on how to raise and distribute the billions needed to safeguard global ecosystems.

Delegates erupted in applause as the agreement was finalized in the closing moments of the negotiations at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization headquarters. “The applause is for all of you. You have done an amazing job,” said COP16 President Susana Muhamad of Colombia, visibly moved by the breakthrough.

The agreement builds on the landmark 2022 global biodiversity pact, which committed nations to halting nature’s destruction by the end of the decade and protecting 30% of the world’s land and oceans. Scientists have warned that urgent action is needed as one million species face extinction due to unsustainable farming, deforestation, and pollution.

Under the deal, countries will focus on two key goals: securing billions of dollars in additional biodiversity funding and establishing the institutions responsible for delivering it. Currently, the world is far from meeting its financial commitments—while nations pledged $200 billion annually for biodiversity by 2030, only $15 billion was delivered in 2022, according to the OECD.

The talks were also a test of global diplomacy, occurring amid trade disputes and budget cuts to international aid, including by new US President Donald Trump. Washington, which has never joined the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity, did not send a representative to the conference.

Despite challenges, Canada’s Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said the agreement showed that “multilateralism can present hope at a time of geopolitical uncertainty.”

With this crucial step forward, nations must now turn their commitments into action to protect the planet’s ecosystems for future generati