The conclusions from COP16 mark a troubling lack of commitment to halting biodiversity loss and addressing the urgent threats facing ecosystems worldwide. Despite mild commitments, the conference has failed to address the vast shortfall in financing necessary to protect and restore ecosystems. Without this action, we remain on a direct path to ecological collapse, with consequences for global food security, water resources, and countless other pillars of society.

MEP Carola Rackete voiced the urgency of transformative change: “Humanity is facing the 6th mass extinction of biodiversity, with horrendous consequences for society, from food security to ecosystem collapse. We must stop destroying ecosystems and drastically reduce resource consumption. Most of all, we can’t solve these problems with the same mindset and policies that created them. To finance biodiversity protection and restoration, we need fair taxes on billionaires and corporations and the elimination of harmful subsidies. The proposal to trade biodiversity credits is not a solution, as Ursula von der Leyen and other neoliberal politicians claim. It will only delay real action, just like carbon offsets have, allowing further destruction until ecosystems collapse.”

The lack of preparation by many governments underscores the severity of this failure. Less than half of EU Member States submitted their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) as required by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Adding to this, recent EU proposals to delay the deforestation law signal a retreat from meaningful leadership on biodiversity. This unwillingness to act sends a damaging message to the world about Europe’s commitment to biodiversity protection.
Urgent, direct action is needed to secure substantial public financing, eliminate environmentally destructive subsidies, and protect biodiversity for future generations. Time is running out, and delaying genuine solutions is no longer an option.