As the global community shifts from ambition to delivery under the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the role of finance has never been more central. Mobilizing capital at scale, reforming harmful incentives, and embedding biodiversity considerations across financial decision‑making are essential to halting and reversing nature loss in time.

COP17 in Yerevan, Armenia, this October will be a critical moment for taking stock of progress on the GBF and accelerating its implementation. Finance Day at COP17 will take place on 26 October 2026; convening financial institutions, policymakers, and practitioners to focus on implementation and the alignment of capital flows with global biodiversity goals. In this interview, Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, reflects on progress against key GBF finance targets, the opportunities for banks and insurers to support a nature‑positive transition, the importance of gender‑responsive finance and leadership, and why strong engagement from the finance sector will be critical at COP17.

 

Target 19 of the GBF is to mobilize at least US$200 billion per year in biodiversity-related funding by 2030. In 2026, where do we stand on this goal, and what finance mechanisms or policy signals do you see as most effective for scaling private finance alongside public finance?

“Compared with only a few years ago, the architecture for mobilizing biodiversity finance is significantly stronger. We are seeing real momentum behind Target 19, particularly on the public finance side. International biodiversity finance to developing countries has scaled faster than many expected and appears to be at, or even above, the interim US$20 billion per year milestone for 2025. More than 100 countries are developing biodiversity finance plans, while multilateral development banks and development finance institutions are improving how nature finance is tracked.

“That said, the US$200 billion per year target by 2030 is a target that requires collaboration and alignment among policy makers, the financial sector, and civil society. Private capital remains under‑mobilized, especially in emerging markets and biodiversity‑rich countries. The priority now is scaling and system change: using public finance, clear policy signals, and risk‑sharing mechanisms to unlock private investment at scale.”

 

Target 18 of the GBF is to reduce harmful incentives by at least US$500 billion per year while scaling up positive incentives for biodiversity. What practical shifts in policy, subsidies, and financial regulation are needed to accelerate this transition, and what role should financial institutions play in reorienting financial flows towards nature-positive activities?

“Target 18 is one of the most powerful levers in the GBF because it addresses the incentives that drive nature loss. UNEP’s latest assessment shows that for every US$1 invested in protecting or restoring nature, around US$30 still goes into activities that degrade it.

“The practical shift now is from broad commitments to strategic reform, starting with subsidies and tax breaks that reward harmful practices. Governments need to phase down what is harmful while scaling up positive incentives, using fiscal policy, procurement, and regulation to make sustainable business models more competitive. Financial institutions have a critical role in reorienting mainstream capital allocation by addressing portfolio exposure to ecosystem decline and actively supporting client transitions. They also have an important voice in supporting clearer disclosure rules, transition frameworks and subsidy reform.”

 

Beyond risk mitigation, where do you see the greatest strategic opportunities for banks and insurers in supporting a nature-positive economic transition?

“As demand, regulation, and investment shift, opportunities are emerging in sustainable agriculture and forestry, water and watershed resilience, circular economy infrastructure, restoration‑linked supply chains, and urban and coastal resilience.

“There is also a major opportunity in transition finance. Many companies understand that pressure will increase, but lack a clear pathway. Banks can help finance credible transitions through sustainability‑linked lending, project finance, and strategic advisory. Insurers, in turn, can support innovation by pricing and transferring new environmental and transition risks, making emerging nature‑positive business models more investable.”

 

The GBF recognises gender equality and the full, equitable participation of women and girls as essential to effective biodiversity action. Yet women continue to face structural barriers to financial inclusion. What changes are needed to ensure women can fully participate in and lead biodiversity and nature resilience efforts?

“In many parts of the world, women remain disproportionately affected by biodiversity loss while continuing to face structural barriers to land rights, financial services, credit and decision-making. Addressing these barriers—including for Indigenous women and local women leaders—is essential if women are to fully participate in and lead biodiversity action.

“Finance needs to be designed in ways that reach women. This includes financial products for women‑led small and medium-sized enterprises and cooperatives, blended finance structures that work at community level, and investment models that recognise the value of local stewardship and long‑term resilience. Beyond access, women must be supported as leaders – as entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and community decision‑makers – shaping where capital flows and how resilience is built.”

 

As a female leader at the forefront of global nature conservation, how do you see women shaping progress towards global biodiversity goals?

“Women are shaping progress toward global biodiversity goals by influencing action on the ground, policy design, and financial decision‑making. At the community level, women play a central role in restoring landscapes, managing water and forests, and building food and climate resilience. At policy level, women are helping move biodiversity beyond a narrow conservation focus into wider debates on development, equity and resilience. In finance, women are increasingly asking harder questions about what is being financed and how incentives can support nature‑positive outcomes. Women’s leadership matters not only for representation, but because it helps reshape how priorities are set and decisions are made.”

 

As we look ahead to COP17 later this year, what role do you see financial institutions playing at the conference, and why will strong private finance sector representation be important?

“COP17 will mark the first global review of collective progress in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, making it an important opportunity to demonstrate how biodiversity is being integrated into financial decision-making and implementation efforts.

“COP17 is to be seen as a conference on implementation; thus, it needs strong participation from the institutions that shape the real economy. Private finance should not be there simply to make pledges on the sidelines; it should be part of the core conversation about how biodiversity becomes embedded in economic and financial decision-making. For the outcomes from Yerevan to be credible, the discussions need to include not only negotiators and conservation actors, but also the business and finance sectors, who will help determine whether the transformation to a more resilient and sustainable future becomes real or remains aspirational.”

 

For more information about nature at UNEP FI, click here.