COP16: Aligning Biodiversity with Human Rights and Climate Action

Global Witness calls for CBD COP16 to transition the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) into actionable plans. The organization advocates for the protection and participation of land and environmental defenders, the implementation of mandatory regulations to end harmful financial flows driving deforestation, and the establishment of responsible mining standards and 'no-go zones' in biodiversity hotspots to ensure the energy transition does not undermine nature.

• Land and environmental defenders, particularly Indigenous peoples, are critical to biodiversity conservation, stewarding over one-third of protected land across 90 countries and helping preserve approximately 80% of remaining global biodiversity, yet they face extreme violence and exclusion from decision-making.
• Voluntary commitments by agribusinesses and financial institutions to end deforestation have proven ineffective; therefore, mandatory trade and finance regulations are required to align financial systems with forest protection and meet the 2030 goal of halting deforestation.
• The document warns that the European Commission's proposed 12-month delay to the EU deforestation-free product Regulation (EUDR) risks encouraging other jurisdictions to reduce their ambitions for deforestation-free supply chains.
• The rising demand for transition minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel for renewable energy technologies threatens biodiversity, with mining potentially affecting up to one-third of the world's forests, particularly in the Amazon, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia.
• To mitigate the impact of the energy transition on nature, Global Witness recommends implementing legally binding ESG standards for mining, mandating Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) for affected communities, and designating biodiversity-rich areas as no-go zones for mining.

APA

Global Witness (n.d.). COP16: Aligning Biodiversity with Human Rights and Climate Action. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/cop16-aligning-biodiversity-with-human-rights-and-climate-action/

Chicago

Global Witness. COP16: Aligning Biodiversity with Human Rights and Climate Action. n.d. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/cop16-aligning-biodiversity-with-human-rights-and-climate-action/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Global Witness |title=COP16: Aligning Biodiversity with Human Rights and Climate Action |url=https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/cop16-aligning-biodiversity-with-human-rights-and-climate-action/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{globalwitnessndcop16, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{COP16: Aligning Biodiversity with Human Rights and Climate Action}}, publisher = {Global Witness}, url = {https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/cop16-aligning-biodiversity-with-human-rights-and-climate-action/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }