COP17: Key takeaways from the UN Biodiversity Conference in Yerevan, Armenia
Global progress on biodiversity is slow, but the stakes are rising for businesses
The UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17) is under way in Yerevan, Armenia. Running from 19-30 October, the conference marks the halfway point to the global biodiversity targets agreed in 2022, and will be the first time countries review their collective progress. The UN's own assessment, published days before the summit, finds that fewer than half of the national targets countries have assessed are on track.
Framework Review
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), adopted at COP15, sets 23 targets in pursuit of a world "living in harmony with nature by 2050". Among the most prominent are:
Conserving 30% of land and sea, known as "30x30"
Reducing harmful incentives by at least $500bn per year and scaling up positive incentives for biodiversity
Mobilising $200bn per year for biodiversity from all sources, including $30bn through international finance
Significantly for corporates and investors alike, target 15 calls on businesses to assess and disclose their nature-related dependencies, impacts and risks.
Key Discussion Points
The results of the UN’s review will characterise the summit. The assessment highlights weak progress on 30x30, where pledges fall well short, and on subsidy reform, where few countries have made commitments. Moreover, business-related targets are among those furthest behind. Once the review is complete, countries are expected to negotiate a "Yerevan Pathway" to accelerate action before 2030.
Two related meetings are running alongside COP17. The first, under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CP-MOP-12), covers the safe handling of genetically modified organisms. The second, under the Nagoya Protocol (NP-MOP-6), covers the fair sharing of benefits from nature’s genetic resources.
Finance is the other central discussion. The Cali Fund, agreed at COP16 in 2024, ensures countries and communities benefit from their genetic resources. Companies profiting from digital sequence information (DSI – the genetic data of plants, animals and microbes stored digitally) are expected to contribute 1% of profits or 0.1% of revenue to the Fund. This covers a broad range of sectors, including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, biotechnology and AI, but so far only three companies have paid in. At COP17, countries will consider which companies should contribute and how the money is shared out, including how at least half reaches Indigenous peoples and local communities.
Why does COP17 matter for businesses and investors?
In April, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) agreed to propose nature-related disclosure requirements in the form of an IFRS Practice Statement, complementing its existing IFRS S1 and S2 standards. The proposals draw on the recommendations and guidance of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). The ISSB has been clear that companies are already required to disclose material nature-related information under IFRS S1. It has targeted October 2026 for publishing an exposure draft, which will be open for comment for 120 days.
Market practice is moving in the same direction. More than 1,150 organisations have now published TNFD-aligned reports, around twice as many as a year earlier. Organisations committed to TNFD reporting represent US$26.6tn in assets under management.
Investors are also driving change, and with good reason. Nearly US$58tn of global GDP depends on nature, and the European Central Bank estimates that severe water scarcity alone could put up to 24% of euro area economic output at risk. The Finance for Biodiversity Foundation, which is active at COP17’s dedicated Business and Finance Days, is urging governments to supervise nature-related financial risks, strengthen disclosure and assess whether financial flows support the framework’s goals.
What to do now
Understand your exposure. TNFD's LEAP approach (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare) gives organisations of any size or sector a structured way to identify their nature-related issues. An updated version was published this month (see source 12).
Prepare for disclosure. Review the ISSB's proposals when they are released and consider responding during the consultation period.
Integrate Build nature into existing climate and risk processes, and engage with portfolio companies on how they are managing nature-related risks.
Looking ahead
COP17 will test whether governments can turn their 2030 commitments into action and create the market conditions that allow finance to follow. Whatever is agreed in Yerevan, nature risk is fast becoming financially material. The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report now ranks biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse as the second most severe global risk over the next decade, and central banks and supervisors warn it can affect the financial system through many of the same channels as climate change. The sooner investors understand their exposure, the better placed they will be when the rules catch up.
Danesmead Advisory helps investors to integrate nature and biodiversity into their investment processes and prepare for TNFD and ISSB reporting. Get in touch to find out how we can support you.
Sources
2. CBD: State of Biodiversity Action press release, 15 October 2026
3. CBD: Business engagement and the framework's targets
4. CBD: Global Biodiversity Framework targets
5. CBD: Scenario note for COP17, CP-MOP-12 and NP-MOP-6 (CBD/COP/17/1/Add.2)
6. UNDP MPTF: Cali Fund 2025 annual progress report
8. The Cali Fund: newsletter, 15 October 2026
9. IFRS: ISSB agrees proposed way forward for nature-related disclosures
10. TNFD: ISSB decision on nature-related standard setting
11. IFRS: Nature-related disclosures project
13. Paulson Institute, The Nature Conservancy and WWF: Financing Nature 2026, A Mid-Decade Update
15. Finance for Biodiversity Foundation: Finance for Biodiversity at COP17
16. TNFD: LEAP approach guidance
Further Reading
