October 31, 2026
YEREVAN, ARMENIA (Oct. 31, 2026) - As COP17 concludes in Yerevan, Conservation International calls on governments, companies, and communities to take action on subsidy and incentive reform. Patricia Zurita, Conservation International's Executive Director and Chief External Affairs Officer, said:
“The task in Yerevan was to assess progress and accelerate action. The world has already agreed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by conserving 30 percent of all lands and seas by 2030 and now it has agreed to accelerate reform of subsidies harmful to nature. This is key to meeting the other goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework.
“The Presidency set the tone, and the result was an important step forward in our commitment to reform harmful subsidies into incentives that benefit nature and people. COP17 sends a strong signal to the world: that countries are committed to providing the funding nature needs and ending harmful spending, as called for in Target 18.
“Nature needs more funding, and we welcome countries’ efforts to continue to mobilize all resources. We also need to look at where money is going now. Reforming subsidies continues to be a crucial piece to closing the funding gap, particularly when subsidies carry hidden costs that are as much as 4-12 times the value of the subsidies themselves. Subsidy reform has support from the private sector, too, with more than 130 businesses urging incentive reform forward. Moreover, governments need to retain and increase their direct, overseas spending.
“From COP, the Armenian Presidency generated crucial momentum for nature by creating the Yerevan Call on Incentives Positive to Biodiversity which urges governments to reform subsidies that damage biodiversity and create incentives that instead encourage people to conserve nature. The Presidency’s political declaration was underpinned by the launch of the ‘Friends of Target 18’ platform, co-chaired by Colombia and Finland, to sustain political attention and bolster important technical work needed to phase out harmful subsidies. And, the Presidency created the Yerevan Biodiversity Financial Challenge to support 10 countries in identifying and removing harmful subsidies.
“Two years ago in Cali, the world took the important step of creating a mechanism by which Indigenous Peoples and local communities would have a strong voice in meeting global biodiversity goals. Collaboration, mutual respect, and shared decision-making are essential to ensure Indigenous Peoples are rights holders and indispensable partners in protecting nature. The outcome at the end of COP17 allows Indigenous peoples and local communities to use their own leadership and representation decisions to guide the work of this subsidiary body — an important step forward.
“The climate and biodiversity crises are deeply connected, yet efforts to address them too often move on separate tracks. When every cent for nature matters, we cannot afford to continue duplicating efforts on those two essential causes. While there have been challenges, forward progress continues to bring the Rio conventions together and enable action on the ground.
“The path to the next Biodiversity COP in two years is clear. Subsidy reform doesn’t happen at these international meetings, it happens at home. There’s a clear signal that delegates will take back to their capitals — subsidy reform is no longer on the backburner. There is no time to be paying twice. Conservation International’s recent paper offers recommendations on how to get that work started.
“The measure of COP17 will be in what countries do next. Progress doesn’t have to be perfect to be useful. Now is the time to focus on why these COPs exist — nature and people.”