Press Conference: Week two press conference - Conference of the Parties (COP 17), UN Convention on Biodiversity

in our economic strategy, and that's why we think that reorient harmful subsidy is a first step to succeed in doing that. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Ambassador. Any questions? More questions from the floor? Yes, please, in the front. Oh, wait, there's a microphone coming. Thank you. Yeah.

I was wondering if you had the list of the countries that are part of the Friends of Charter 18. if you had the list of the countries part of Target 18.

So, the co-chairs of the formalized Friends of Target 18 that was launched today are Colombia and Finland. We had in the launch event, France and Malawi announced their intention to join. We are now in the process of opening a formal procedure for countries to join this initiative. We have had a number of countries participating in the informal Friends of Target 18, which has existed for some time now. So we expect those countries to become formal members. And as I said earlier, we had 17 ministers speak today at the event expressing their interest and intention and commitment to reforming environmentally harmful subsidies. So we're optimistic that this momentum will result in a substantial group of countries that will be the friends of Target 18 to sustain this momentum.

Thank you. Yes, one there and then one at the back, please.

Thank you. Tom Cox, Carbon Pulse. I wanted to ask, what is the most important concrete thing you'd like to see achieved as a result of the negotiated outcomes at COP17 on subsidies? Do you want me to repeat the question? Can you hear me?

We can hear you. I think she's just repeating. What's the single... Repeat it. Would you mind repeating once? Just as from COP17.

What is the most important thing you'd like to see achieved at COP17 on the negotiated outcomes for harmful subsidies?

The most important for me is to have some political commitments, because I think it's only with political will that we will move. You know, we have very technical discussions on a lot of topics in this Biodiversity COP. It is important. But if we want to enlarge the basis of those who will act, we need to get out of our biodiversity bubble. And that's why some topics, as harmful subsidies, are important, because we integrate in the discussion other actors that are never usually there in the discussions. And for me, the commitments we are taking are involving, for example, in France, Minister of Finance, which was invested before, but will have to lead the discussions. With other actors, we always think about farmers because farmers are very important actors, but also industries, but also energy providers, and they will be actor of the biodiversity action. And that's why my answer is clearly an answer of political vision and not only of technical discussions.

Thank you so much. There was one at the back, yes, thank you.

Hello, Nick Perry from AFP. A question for the ambassador. It's somewhat similar, but this Friends of Target 18 is, you're saying it's a positive development. It's obviously also outside the negotiations. It's a coalition outside the formal talks. Is the atmosphere in the rooms, in the negotiation rooms, as positive? Could you give us a sense of how you see the negotiations so far? Has there been enough progress? Are countries moving fast enough? And would you like to see a bit more urgency?

It is not the point of this conference, but what I can say is that we are at the middle of the COP. I had the opportunity to attend a lot of COPs, and at the middle, it's always the same thing. We have very difficult discussion, some obstructions, some countries who say that they don't want to move, and at the end, often we find solutions on a lot of topics. So I am quite positive. I think there are interesting discussions on some topics, including financial aspects, which is a good signal. But we know also that sometimes there are some actors want to block and use our consensus system to block. So we will see what will happen in the coming days. I hope that everybody will do their best to find solution, and I'm sure they will do. But if not, maybe we should learn from that to move on for the next steps.

Thank you so much. I can take one more question, if anyone has. Noela, yes? I think you're, Ola, back to you. Thank you.

Thank you. Just a quick one, maybe for Patricia. What do countries have to commit to to join the Friends group? Is there any minimum amount of incentives they have to say that they would reform, or what do they have to do to sign up?

So that The process that begins now is defining a work program, and that will be under the leadership of the co-chairs, Colombia and Finland. At present, this has been a commitment to undertake the contents of what is in the KMTBF framework and in Target 18. And as we move forward with this Friends Group, the parties who are members of this, and this will be a party-driven process, will further define how this initiative will develop.

Fantastic. Thank you so much, all of you. I hope you see the level of interest, engagement in the corridors and inside and outside of the negotiation rooms. We feel like that's a It's been a good space to evolve some of these difficult conversations. We'll close the press briefing now, but all the speakers, including from the first panel, will be available if you have any follow-ups. Thank you so much for joining.

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Okay, that's fine. I'll ask them. Thanks. Hello, everyone. Please come in, have a seat. We'll get started in just a minute, and welcome. Good afternoon, everybody. Hello to everyone in the room. Hello to everybody online. And welcome. Good afternoon from Yerevan, Armenia. Welcome to the midpoint press conference for the 2026 UN Biodiversity Conference. We welcome all representatives from the media here, in person and online. My name is Liz Mullen-Bernhardt. I'm the head of communications at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and I'm happy to be moderating today's session. Today, I am very honored to be joined by His Excellency Mr. Hambardzom Matobosian, COP 17 President. Ms. Inger Andersen, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, and Ms. Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Together, we will be reflecting on the progress so far and priorities for the days ahead as negotiations to accelerate global action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss continue. Before we take questions from the press, our speakers will be providing some brief remarks. After the remarks, we will take time to answer questions in the room and online. And we kindly ask that all questions, all people asking questions identify yourself by name, your media outlet, and the person to whom you are directing your question. We do have interpretation for you. There are headphones in the back. And if you're watching online, we have all UN languages through UN Web TV. With that, I have the pleasure to give the floor to His Excellency Hambardzum Matavosyan, President of COP 17, for his opening remarks. Mr. President, the floor is yours.

Thank you. Thank you very much, dear Executive Director Inger Andersen, dear Executive Secretary Ostrich Schomaker, dear colleagues, members of the media. Thank you for joining us as we enter the second and decisive week of COP17. The first week has demonstrated what multilateral cooperation can achieve. The parties have adopted important decisions on biosafety, invasive alien species, gender, education, and information sharing. And we have also witnessed encouraging momentum. Today, I welcome the different financial pledges that have been made from governments, philanthropic organizations, and investors. And together, I can announce that COP17 is enabling a total mobilization of more than 1.8 billion from all sources in support of strong biodiversity action. In addition to the 500 million pledge towards species recovery and yesterday's 300 million target, by Value Nature Fund, 40% of this mobilization includes funding through DJF. And over the past three hours, the Kingdom of Netherlands announced 500 million for the Tropical Forest Forever Facility. And I'm grateful to all countries, investors, philanthropists who are making this scope of finance success. And we are not done. For the Global Environment Facility, we are securing 1.4 million to conserve and restore Lake Sevan. And I'm very grateful that this is Armenia's first project under the fund. For the COP 17 presidency, this is our way to showing that we must translate commitments into resources, practical action, and measurable results for nature. And let me share three observations around the challenges before us for the second week. First, we must build stronger political leadership to support implementation. We expect 17 ministers, 40 deputy ministers, 40 heads of international organizations, and approximately 1,500 participants at the high-level segment. Biodiversity cannot remain the responsibility of environment ministries alone. It must become part of the decisions that shape our economies, national budgets, and investments. That's the key message of today's Finance and Biodiversity Day. We need more finance for nature, more policies and more financial incentives that work for biodiversity. Second, we must turn global ambition into practical cooperation. This week, the Armenian presidency will present four flagship initiatives addressing critical implementation gaps, protecting mountain and freshwater ecosystems, advancing effective area-based conservation, strengthening biodiversity monitoring through technology, and reforming harmful incentives while scaling up positive incentives. A couple of hours ago, we had the launch of the incentives, Friends of Target 18, on harmful incentives. Our ambition is to build partnerships and mechanisms that deliver lasting results after COP 17. Third, we must translate the findings of the first global review into a stronger collective response. This is the purpose of our proposed Yerevan pathway, to connect the assessment of progress with practical solutions and accelerated implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Important negotiations remain ahead. As presidency, we will work with all parties to bridge differences, build consensus, and support balanced, meaningful outcomes. Dear colleagues, the first week has shown the cooperation that can deliver progress. The second week must demonstrate that political commitment can deliver action. Ultimately, COP17 will not be judged by the number of announcements made in Yerevan, but by the lasting results we achieve together beyond COP17. And that is our responsibility, and that is the ambition of the Armenian Presidency: taking action for nature. Thank you.

Thank you, Your Excellency, for those remarks. It is now my pleasure to hand over to the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, Madam Inger Andersen. The floor is yours.

Thank you very much, and good evening, Minister, good evening, Executive Secretary, and good evening to members of the press. I think we all know that this COP takes place amid profound multilateral and geopolitical shifts across the world. But as we saw during the first week, environmental multilateralism is continuing to deliver and continuing to work. And in this context, let me express my deep appreciation to Armenia and the government and its people for the amazing hospitality and arrangements that have been arranged for us. Now, as we begin this final week of talks, we need to build on that progress. and secure strong outcome for the Yerevan pathway. As the Leaders' Summit a week before last reinforced, we can only achieve the level of progress we need to get the global goals back on track by working together under this multilateral umbrella. As UNEP Executive Director, I am particularly pleased to see such strong representation of the multilateral environmental agreements here, because increasing synergies across the conventions is not just a catchphrase, it is the secret to unlocking integrated action and integrated financing at the level we truly need. That action has never been more needed. Last week, UNEP launched our latest Emissions Gap Report ahead of COP31. This report reinforces a hard reality: no or limited overshoot of 1.5 degrees is no longer possible. The lowest possible 1.5 overshoot scenario limits peak warming to around mid-century to around 1.7 to 1.8 degrees. To put it very simply and very plainly, there are no good outcomes above 1.5 degrees, and the impacts on biodiversity will be extreme. To avert the worst of this crisis, we need unprecedented multilateral action, and that action begins with the financial backing. So, on this Finance Day, I join the COP17 Presidency in reinforcing the vital importance of much greater finance. But momentum is growing. I am particularly pleased to see the third Ministers of Finance and Environment Day and the inaugural dialogue hosted by no less than the Minister of Finance of Armenia this morning. And that successfully carried forward, yes, conversations that happened just a week or two ago at the Bangkok World Bank IMF annual meetings. The Kunming Biodiversity Fund also met earlier today and approved projects as part of a $21 million package for 2026. And finally, and very importantly, The event hosted by Brazil on the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, TFFF, as you just heard from His Excellency Minister, showcased exactly the type of innovative approaches required to scale up finance and to support developing nations preserve their natural resources. And that is what we need, innovative, targeted, and effective finance to address drivers of biodiversity loss. Because nature loss is a cost to every ministry, every community, and every business. And the threats are real, they are here, and they are now, and they are happening. And that's why this high level week at the CBD COP 17 is so important. And I have to say, having been to pretty much every biodiversity COP since the beginning of time. that this is the most ambitious, the most busy, and the most engaged COP agenda that we have ever seen. To help secure a strong Yerevan pathway this week, I encourage Parties to focus on unlocking real movement on difficult issues. Ministers are arriving, as you just heard, and they can help unblock ongoing challenges. specifically on digital sequencing information, resource mobilization, and the global review. So my message to parties is: stay laser focused, prioritize your efforts, be efficient with the time remaining. We already have a roadmap. It's called the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Now is the time, the hard time, the hard task for implementation. I'm sure that under this COP17 Presidency, supported by excellent colleagues at the CBD Secretariat, we can lay the groundwork to achieve exactly that, but only if we work together. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Executive Director, for those remarks. It is now my great pleasure to hand over to Madam Executive Secretary of the Convention, Astrid Schomaker.

Good evening, everybody, and it's great to see such a full room here this evening as we move into week number two of COP17 and the meetings of our protocols. And as you've heard, it's been a super busy first week, and it's been a week full of energy that has been carrying us all forward. This COP is about taking action for nature. We've heard that several times. It goes along two pathways, if you want. The negotiated track, where parties look at how far they have come in the implementation of the framework and negotiate decisions where they make commitments to move further. But then this massive mobilization around it, where ideas and commitments are directly translated into practice. And we're moving forward on both those tracks, and that is what is so encouraging. When we're looking at this COP, we're looking at it in a way, we call it the triple-A COP, if you want. The first A stands for accountability. Countries have made commitments. This is the moment when we're looking at how far we've come. We have a clear report, and now we're owning up, everybody's owning up to not being fast enough and to saying, okay, we're here to close the gaps. And that is what is happening across our decisions. And we see this sort of willingness to work with the system, for example, in the fact that 70% of parties have submitted national reports, and 90% have actually put national biodiversity targets in place, spanning the whole breadth of the target. That is an amazing sign of commitment to multilateralism and working within the system. But accountability is obviously not enough. Here we come to the difficult discussions, and the executive director has mentioned it, and the co-president has mentioned it. We need to do more than addressing the manifestations of biodiversity loss. We have to look a lot more at upstream issues of mainstreaming, and, and that's my second A, of alignment. It is important that we align our action with the needs of nature. That means aligning ambition. with what has been agreed, but it also means a broad system alignment with sort of leading to a shift of moving away from working against nature, spending more money on destroying nature than on saving it, and aligning the entire financial and economic system with living in harmony with nature. That is a tough issue. And subsidies, of course, are at the center of this debate. And here also I want to congratulate the presidency on its courage and all the countries already coming together in the newly launched initiative on addressing subsidies, scaling up positive incentives, but also being friends of Target 18, that target that is deep in the red, and taking action now to move away from harmful subsidies and repurpose them to activities that can sustain nature, but at the same time, sustain the people living on this planet. The third A, of course, is acceleration, and that's what this COP is all about. We need fast action. 2030 is around the corner. The president has mentioned the decisions that were already taken, 14 of them on Friday evening. A quick process. People were quite in agreement after the first week of negotiations. And those decisions matter. On invasive alien species, one of the five main drivers of biodiversity loss, we have decided to move forward and to align our our guidance with latest scientific findings, and also to facilitate rapid access to emergency funding and technical resources. The gender target 23, also lagging behind. A great mobilization of women here at this COP saying, together we can be stronger, women teaming up with indigenous peoples, local communities, and youth. But also, looking at the gender action plan, taking stock and saying, OK, that also needs to move further. Or take education. We have a new education action plan for biodiversity, so that the young people can begin to understand as they grow up why it matters to live in harmony with nature, and then talk to their parents about it. Or biosafety, a classic issue where we can have conflicts between biodiversity protection and economic interests, and the classic equity issue. where it's important to make sure that everybody can move forward together and everybody has the ability to do risk assessment and deal with new living modified organisms. I could say a lot more, I just want to close with one extra A. After the triple-A, a fourth A comes to mind, and that A is loud everywhere in the corridors at this conference, and that's the A for agency. We're coming together here, and we do have agency. Yes, the The biodiversity crisis is severe. The figures are deep in the red. The financial mobilization needs to accelerate. But coming together, we see here that coming together, we can make a difference, and also that each of us has a role to play in halting and reversing biodiversity loss. And this sense of agency, we believe, will now carry us forward in the second week, the ministers have arrived, where the political impetus will come to look at the remaining negotiating issues and take us forward to the end of this COP and on the Yerevan pathway towards accelerated implementation. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Executive Secretary. We do have some time now for some questions. I do not yet see any online, but we have plenty in the room. I'll be asking my colleagues to help with our microphones. Let me point here to the front. If you can ask your question here. Jihad or Rachel, thank you. Please do remind us your name, media outlet, and to whom your question is addressed. Thank you.

Sure. I'm Stella Paul from IPS News. My question is to Mr. President here. I was very lucky to visit. I have just come back from one of this Lake 7 project site. So that was two days ago. And I was wondering, why did you prioritize that particular project over others? So if you could just explain that. And the second question is what you just said. You said that you are hoping for a meaningful outcome. So I'm wondering, is there an agreed understanding or definition of what that meaningful outcome would look like? Thank you.

Thank you.

Well, thank you very much for the question. It's not about prioritizing the environmental issues in Armenia versus as they vary in every single country. So it's water, pollution in general, air pollution, water pollution, as to mountainous ecosystems, as to protected areas, and so on. But the Lake Sevan has, like you said, is special to us. Well, first and foremost, it's the crown jewel for Armenia's environment in general and for our nature. It's the biggest freshwater reservoir in the lake, in the region. And Lake Sevan plays a huge role, not only for the local economists, like, for example, the Gegarkunik region of Armenia, for the tourism, for fishing, and so on, but also it plays a huge role in the economy for the whole Armenia. Last time that we did the monitoring, if I'm not mistaken, it was about $400 million per year for our economy. that Lake Sevan supports. So those were the reasons. And of course, being it so special for our nature, we have to take care of Lake Sevan, the preservation, the water quality in general, to making sure that we do the right projects for the conservation of the biodiversity. within the lake, there are so many projects that we do. For example, we have special projects for endemic trout species in Lake Sevan that is done by the ministry. There are some other projects that we do to clean the basin in general of the lake and so on. So when we had an opportunity, Considering also that one of the presidency initiatives for Armenia is the mountain freshwater ecosystems, and Armenia being a mountainous country, everything here is mountainous ecosystem, we have decided to ask funds for the Lake Sevan. And I'm very glad that it was approved for that amount. 1.4 million dollars, but this is not the only fund, and it's not the only project that we're working with the colleagues. When we talk about multilateralism and when we're talking about working together, and like I said in my opening remarks, that just only the ministers, ministries of environments cannot solve this. This should be a whole of a government, whole of a society approach, of course, including the private sector as well. So that was the reason. The next question is the end game of the COP17. I think, well, I cannot talk about the end game of the COP17 because COP17 has not ended, and indeed, it will not end at 30 of October. The COP17 will continue, and its legacy will continue at least the next upcoming two years, and there is still a lot of work to do, but I could wrap up the first week. Like I said again in my opening remarks, the first week was great. And we are very honored by so many distinguished participants to the COP17. We're honored by the delegates who are here. The closed-door negotiations are hard. And they do not end at 6:00 PM. For example, I mean, Saturday and Sunday should have expected to be a good weekend. for the delegates to see our beautiful country. But since the agenda items are so many, and there's still a lot of work to do, of course, the delegates and the Bureau, they all agreed that we should work on the weekend as well. And it was a huge success. And I think that this success will continue already to the second week, which we have already started with the high-level segment, anticipated visit of so many high-level participants. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. President. I will ask if there are other questions in the audience.

Hello, I'm Orla Dwyer from Carbon Brief. My question is for the President as well, but open to either of the panelists too. Be interested to hear your thoughts. Like you say, Mr. President, there's still a lot to do this week. I was wondering if you could give us an insight into the negotiation tracks that have been going quite smoothly and those that are going to need a lot more push this week from ministers in order to get signed off by the end. Thank you.

Thank you. As a politician, I must tell you, negotiations are never smooth. If there is a negotiation, it means there is something to negotiate for. They are never smooth, and there is always a push needed. The good thing is the first plenary session to adopt the items, we have managed to adopt 14 items. There were some comments from the parties. And one party even wanted to explicitly edit to the paragraph about the women and youth. And I must say, the whole auditorium, the whole plenary agreed on. And the presidency is supporting the old parties to make sure that the negotiations, they go smoothly. And we'll be having another one on the 28th of October, and also the 30th of October. And so far, after that session, after the plenary session, we have managed to come to an agreement on many other items. And of course, the ones who are more challenging ones, hence the ministers are here, so that they will, just like my colleague said, they're also here to make sure that if the negotiations come to a barrier where we need a political decisions, hence the ministers are here to help with their political willingness to push the agenda forward. And I think that those upcoming two days will be extremely important for the COP agenda. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Carbon Brief, for the question. We'll take a question now from an Armenian journalist here to the left. I believe it's Sputnik.

Thank you. Sputnik Armenia, Aram Gareginian.

I wanted you to expand on the initiative Cares, which was launched by Armenia in partnership with a number of other countries. How has the idea of that project come about? And what is the action plan which it has and envisages? And what are the sources of financing for the intended projects in the future? Obviously, it's a good initiative, but it hasn't got the media coverage it truly deserves. Thank you.

I think that we have Armenian-English interpretation.

I will answer you in Armenian. I can hear that there is English interpretation. So As for the last part of the question, as to why such an important initiative did not receive the media coverage it deserved, I believe that I am the one to ask that question in this hall. And this is a question to our colleagues. I'm really sorry that we do not prioritize sufficiently global procedures and the availability of global funds. The initiative took place in partnership with a number of international funds, and of course, the priority countries that joined the initiative, and largely speaking. And indeed, bring their major contribution in the making of the initiative were the Republic of Armenia and Colombia. And it was planned to have up to 30 countries to join to benefit from $500 million within the framework of ******* Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Target 4 in order to address the issues under this target. And this is what the funds are meant for. I repeat that our slogan for this COP is "Acting for Nature." And I am happy to see that we can see some tangible outcomes and initiatives. And also, in the previous days, we had a number of other very important initiatives take place. And a short while ago, I was participating with my colleagues in the discussions undertaken by Jeff. The financial support pledges were declared, and I was present at this event. And unless I am mistaken, since this event was only an hour ago, we have another declaration commitment at the value of 60 million to come to support JEF. And these are really important for the Republic of Armenia, because the Republic of Armenia is a party to this fund and can benefit from them in order to address its national targets and objectives. But this is really important for all parties, all states. We constantly discuss financial issues, and whenever we do, we prioritize developing countries' issues to be funded. And it is important to make sure that these issues are financed not only through state budgets. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. President. I will read a question from one of those that has come online. It is for Madam Executive Director Inger Andersen. The question is coming from Publico, Clara Barata, and her question is if you can reflect on how the re-election of the Brazilian President Lula might influence the conversation here in Yerevan. Over to you.

Well, look. What we've seen in a number of countries is that we have a number of elections, and we saw democracy at work. People made a decision. Now, and so we celebrate whenever an election happens peacefully and with the will of the people being expressed. And so good for Brazilian people that they took this election. and that it was entirely peaceful, and we will obviously look for the continuation of the current administration based on the voice of the people. And we were very happy to, for COP30, being in Belém and seeing the true leadership of a country leaning in on a complex situation. A country that nevertheless still has poverty, it still has development journey ahead of it, but nevertheless sees that climate change, biodiversity, pollution and waste, these big issues are real, and seeking to at the same time drive a thriving economy, drive jobs and opportunity for all. So we congratulate them and wish them the very best. And just earlier today in the Tropical Forest Forever facility event, we saw Brazil at work, hard at work, making money, make money for biodiversity, and bringing in other people along the same lines. So good on Brazil, and we wish them the very best. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Executive Director. I'll propose we take one more question from in the room, and then I will ask a final question from online. I can already tell Madam Executive Secretary Schumacher that the last question will be for you. But let us first take a question here in the room. Let me see. Please do identify yourself. Thank you.

Hi, good evening. Mr. Matvosyan, my question is for you. When in your response to the journalist's question, you spoke about the projects for Lake Sevan, which is quite welcome. However, there is a painful issue that I would like to voice. In Shikahogh Reserve, the Azerbaijani military has conducted an ecocide. And recently, we heard that in Jermuk Reserve, the Azerbaijanis have massively chopped trees. deforesting the area, which is a painful issue. Is COP17 the platform that we have leveraged or we will succeed to leverage by October 30th to voice these issues, maybe also behind the scenes? Thank you.

Thank you very much for the question. Unless I'm mistaken, in the previous discussion, I have had again an opportunity to speak to you and to your media outlet on this matter. My answer is not going to be different from what I said previously. All environmental issues and all environmental disasters are problematic, and they should be. We have been saying that environmental issues do not understand boundaries, then our decision should not see boundaries and borders either. So this is about geopolitics and environmental issues. As for the Shikahok situation, I have already had an opportunity previously to publicly speak about this. I am a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, and I hold a high political position, and to me, As the Minister of the Environment of Armenia and to the President of COP, environmental issues are a top priority. But as I already mentioned, as a political leader and as a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, the top priority interests of Armenia come to me first. And when we speak about border line areas and our relations with the neighbors, our policy is led by the peace agenda. And the de facto peace agenda, when strengthened, when we move forward by it, when the delimitation and demarcation works are done, I am hopeful that not only with the Republic of Azerbaijan, but also with all our neighbors, we will have an opportunity to implement jointly cross-border environmental projects. And as it was already mentioned, various funds give such an opportunity to the countries for the countries to come together under one joint package. And I am convinced that after our delimitation works, we will have these opportunities, and we will try to restore all the environmental losses that we have incurred in the past decades. Thank you very much.

Mr. President, I will read the last question, which has come to us online, and I will direct it to Madam Executive Secretary Astrid Schomaker. The question is coming from Michael Lomaker – sorry, Michael Lomeier from News 3/30 in Austria. And he is saying that the indicators on biodiversity and climate seem to suggest delays in promises and obligation. It seems the gap is widening. What makes you optimistic that countries can meet the Kunming-Montreal targets?

Thank you. I think that is a very good question. So, I think the first thing that makes me optimistic is that countries are engaging with the framework, and that countries are owning up to what they have committed to four years ago, and are coming together here now to address the gaps that our global report has identified. So, we have a common knowledge base. We know where the gaps are, and we're here to close them. desire of all parties. We also have identified the way forward. This will be the Yerevan pathway that countries are still, parties are still negotiating, but that is a direct response to the gaps identified in the framework. And then secondly, when we look at all the discussions taking place, both in the negotiating rooms and outside the negotiating rooms, When we look at the global report and its findings, we see that some areas are really lagging behind, and those are the difficult areas, the mainstreaming of biodiversity into decisions across governments, the financing, the mobilization of all actors. And this COP is exactly addressing these issues. So what makes me optimistic is that we're not shying away from these issues, but in a way, addressing them head on, trying to do more for women and youth. looking at indigenous peoples and local communities as custodians that have to teach us so much about how to live in harmony with nature, and being on this innovative path as the first convention that has a subsidiary body dedicated to issues related to indigenous peoples and local communities. We're also forging ahead of innovative financing mechanisms, like the Qari Fund, that has not taken off as fast as we might have hoped. But parties are still here and saying, how are we now going to make it work? How can it be done faster? And lastly, we also know that success rests on whole of society mobilization. We have some 15,000 registered participants here from faith communities to farmers to finance. All perspectives are coming together, and they are exchanging and finding solutions. And the Global Report has shown us solutions exist somewhere in the world for every challenge. And this multilateral process within which we are operating allows us to scale them up and to make sure that we can move forward together, leaving no one behind, as everybody has committed to within the UN.

Madam Executive Secretary. Mr. President and Madam Executive Director, thank you for your responses today. Thank you to all media who have joined us online and in person. As a reminder, we do stream and record all of our press conferences online on UN Web TV in multiple languages, and all information is available on the CBD website under the Media tab. We expect our next press conference to be for the closing of the conference on Friday. Thank you so much for joining.