Guterres urges faster action on biodiversity loss ahead of COP17, UN News reports

UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged governments, businesses and communities to speed up efforts to protect biodiversity, according to UN News, the UN's own news service. AllAfrica republished the report almost word for word. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi include no independent coverage of the event.

According to UN News, Guterres spoke on Friday at a Leaders' Summit in Yerevan, Armenia. UN News published its report on 16 October 2026. The summit came ahead of the COP17 UN biodiversity conference, which opens the following week. The reports do not give its exact opening date or agenda.

Guterres welcomed the Yerevan Declaration and its commitment to integrate biodiversity into government policies, budgets and regulations, according to UN News. AllAfrica's version adds that the declaration was adopted at the summit. This detail does not appear in the UN News text. The reports do not include the declaration's text or say which governments endorsed it. They also do not say whether it is binding.

According to UN News, nearly 90 per cent of parties to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework have set national biodiversity targets. More than half have developed national road maps. Since 2022, an additional 1.3 million square kilometres of land and six million square kilometres of ocean have received formal protection.

UN News also cited renewable-energy figures. It reported that the cost of solar power has fallen by almost 90 per cent since 2010. It said clean-energy investment is now nearly double fossil-fuel investment.

Guterres has 76 days remaining in office, according to UN News.

What each side says

The reports include positions from Guterres only. They do not identify which leaders attended or include responses from governments or businesses.

UN News quoted Guterres as saying: "The food we eat, the water we drink, the very air we breathe – all are the gifts of biodiversity. Yet every day, humankind saws another branch off the tree of life."

He said the Kunming-Montreal Framework has inspired action, but "progress is uneven, and far too slow". He said that even if current commitments are met, only 26 per cent of land and 12 per cent of marine ecosystems would be protected by 2030. The goal is 30 per cent.

He said biodiversity financing is less than half of the $200 billion agreed under the Framework. He said that for every dollar invested in protecting nature, $30 is spent on activities that damage it. "I urge governments everywhere to end these handouts once and for all, and to use the savings for people and planet instead," he said, according to UN News.

He said the private sector must contribute, including through the UN-backed Cali Fund. He also pointed to debt burdens in many developing countries. Beyond the Yerevan Declaration's commitment on biodiversity, the reports do not describe other pledges announced at the summit. They also do not give sources or methodology for the figures cited.

Analysis

The speech sets out the UN leadership's priorities before COP17: closing the finance gap, redirecting subsidies and involving the private sector. How far these ideas shape negotiations is not clear from the reports reviewed. They do not show how governments or businesses responded. Much may depend on the content and status of the Yerevan Declaration, which the reports describe only in outline. With Guterres near the end of his term, observers may watch whether his successor keeps biodiversity as a priority. All reported figures come from one UN source. Independent verification would help readers assess them.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.