ClearBlue Markets’ Colombian team participated in this year’s United Nations Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (COP16), which focused on advancing biodiversity goals under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). As biodiversity and climate are closely intertwined, the growing focus on nature conservation is poised to influence the voluntary carbon market (VCM).
COP16 was held in Cali, Colombia, from 21 October to 1 November 2024 and is part of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) signed in 1992, where 197 nations have committed to protecting 30% of Earth’s land and seas by 2030.
ClearBlue Markets was represented at COP16 by Co-founder/CTO Nicolas Girod, NbS Associate Director Juan Manuel Cardona-Granda, and Analyst Wilson Cabanzo. As an International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) member, our team had access to the Blue Zone, where negotiations and high-level dialogues occurred between member countries and accredited observers. They also engaged with stakeholders in the Green Zone, which hosted discussions led by civil society, NGOs, the private sector, and other key players.
Below are ClearBlue’s key takeaways from COP16, including insights from negotiations and stakeholder discussions.
Progress by the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures
The Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) has advanced efforts to help corporations identify and address nature-related risks, dependencies, and impacts. At COP16, the TNFD launched its Blueprint for a Global Nature Data Facility, a significant step toward centralizing and improving access to nature-related data. The initiative adopts a principles-based roadmap aimed at achieving strategic enhancements across the nature data value chain over the medium to long term. The Blueprint outlines three key priorities for pilot testing in 2025, with final recommendations expected later that year. These priorities include developing a composite set of nature data principles, testing existing datasets and sources in collaboration with upstream providers, and refining market needs and use cases for actionable, high-quality nature-related data. A beta version of the Nature Data Public Facility (NDPF) will be central to these efforts, supporting the creation of standardized and interoperable data systems to drive transparency and market confidence.
Limited Progress on Finances and Plans
Of the 196 Parties to the CBD, only 119 countries submitted national biodiversity targets aligning with the KMGBF. However, just 44 (22%) submitted National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs) with the required supporting documents. This highlights a significant gap in readiness and implementation, which could delay progress toward the 2030 Targets. Only five of the 17 megadiverse countries (Australia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Mexico) and four G7 nations (Canada, France, Italy, and Japan) submitted their respective NBSAPs by the deadline.
Measurement Challenges Remain
Standardizing biodiversity metrics remains a key challenge, unlike carbon markets, where CO2 equivalents provide a widely accepted measurement. A standardized approach to biodiversity measurement remains elusive, with ongoing disagreements over the appropriate metrics and methodologies. This issue significantly complicates and hampers the development of a biodiversity credit market analogous to the one in place for carbon credits.
Key achievements at COP16 include creating a permanent subsidiary body to enable local and indigenous community participation in the CBD. Additionally, the Cali Fund was established to channel financial contributions for using digital genetic resource sequencing. COP16 also saw a commitment to align plant conservation efforts with the KMGBF monitoring framework. This includes updating the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation with specific indicators and a standardized reporting template, ensuring that progress in plant protection is measurable and consistent with global biodiversity targets.
Key issues remain unsolved from COP16, including funding, implementation, and monitoring mechanisms for the 2030 Targets; however, COP16 was suspended on the morning of 2 November. Negotiations will resume at a future CBD intercessional meeting without an exact date yet to, at the minimum, finalize a budget. Some issues will inevitably have to be pushed to COP17 in Armenia, set for 2026. As we wait for these biodiversity negotiations to occur, organizations are expected to help the development of a biodiversity market through their own initiatives. An example is Verra’s Nature Framework, which was launched in October 2024 and enables the generation of Nature Credits to sell.
The relationship between biodiversity and various credit types in the VCM is nuanced, reflecting ecosystems' unique role in supporting specific offset projects. For instance, REDD+ credits play a pivotal role in conserving biodiversity-rich habitats by focusing on reducing deforestation and forest degradation. These credits, as well as others that directly protect biodiversity, may see additional demand through making their co-benefits more tangible and comparable. As a result, this could reduce uncertainty in assessing credit quality but may also lead to increased price differentiation within and across credit types.
COP16 highlighted both progress and challenges in advancing biodiversity goals under the KMGBF. While initiatives like the TNFD Blueprint show promise, unresolved issues in measurement, financing, and implementation remain significant barriers. As the VCM evolves with a stronger emphasis on biodiversity, these developments are expected to shape market dynamics, creating both opportunities and challenges for participants.
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