Biodiversity Cop17 in Yerevan ends with vows to meet targets as calls grow for summit reform

Summary

Two weeks of negotiations at the UN biodiversity summit Cop17 in Yerevan, Armenia, concluded on Saturday morning with countries vowing to redouble their efforts to meet this decade's targets. Those targets include protecting 30% of the planet for nature, restoring nearly a third of Earth's degraded ecosystems and reforming $500bn (£410bn) of environmentally damaging subsidies. The Guardian reports that calls are growing for major reforms to the UN biodiversity summits, as governments are likely to continue their record of never having met a target in the convention's 34-year history. Critics quoted in the article say the system allows 'one idiot' to stall progress.

Timeline

1. The Guardian

   31 Oct 2026, 12:30 UTCSource ↗

   The Guardian reports that Cop17 in Yerevan, Armenia, concluded on Saturday with countries vowing to redouble efforts to meet this decade's targets, while calls grow for major reforms to UN biodiversity summits and critics say the system lets 'one idiot' stall progress.