EU reaffirms biodiversity goals at COP17

The European Union has stated it will not reduce its environmental ambitions despite the ongoing seventeenth conference of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17), which is taking place in Yerevan since October 19, 2026. Irish State Minister Christopher O’Sullivan, speaking for the Council presidency, highlighted the EU's adherence to the global framework established at COP15 in 2022. That framework aims to protect 30% of lands and seas by 2030.

EU’s progress and legislative changes

As of the end of 2022, the EU had protected 26.1% of its lands and 12.3% of its seas, surpassing the global average of 18.4% and 10% respectively. However, the EU has relaxed some of its own environmental laws in recent years. For example, the Common Agricultural Policy now allows a greater reduction in permanent pastures, and the wolf has been removed from the list of strictly protected species.

Proposals and challenges ahead

The European Commission has proposed "nature credits," similar to carbon credits, to fund biodiversity projects. However, preparatory meetings for the global review of the Kunming-Montreal framework, held in Nairobi this summer, concluded that without rapid progress, none of the 23 biodiversity targets for 2030 will be met. This is not a new issue, as the Aichi targets set in 2010 were also not fully achieved by 2020.

Structural challenges for biodiversity COP

The biodiversity COP faces structural challenges influenced by the climate COP’s approach. The climate crisis is seen as a global issue where total emissions matter, enabling coordinated action. In contrast, the biodiversity crisis is local, with each ecosystem and species having unique value. The Convention on Biological Diversity acknowledges this, emphasizing the need for localized management and the involvement of all sectors of society.

Taboo of renunciation in biodiversity COP

A key challenge for the biodiversity COP is the "taboo of renunciation," where naming what must be sacrificed to achieve environmental goals risks political resistance. Unlike the climate COP, which eventually named the need to move away from fossil fuels, the biodiversity COP struggles to articulate necessary sacrifices without facing backlash. This is further complicated by the pluralism of values in the Kunming-Montreal framework, which lacks a clear method for resolving conflicting values.

Freedom and the ecological transition

In liberal democracies, freedom is often seen as a fundamental value, and every renunciation is perceived as a loss of freedom. In France, for example, freedom is considered the most important of the three values in the national motto, with 96% of those surveyed considering it important. This perception poses a challenge for advancing biodiversity protection, as requirements are often seen as restrictions on freedom.

Framing biodiversity goals in terms of freedom

To move forward, the biodiversity COP must frame its goals in the language of freedom, recognizing that the most structuring value of societies is currently being used to resist the ecological transition. The ethics of viability, supported by mathematical theory, offers a framework for making explicit choices about what must be maintained for long-term ecological, economic, and social conditions. This approach could help define a viable space based on collective decisions, transforming renunciation into a constitutive element of freedom rather than a constraint.