Luxembourg Pledges Biodiversity Funding at COP17 in Armenia

On Saturday 31 October 2026, Luxembourg's Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity announced that Luxembourg had participated in the seventeenth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia.

Attended by Luxembourg's Minister of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity, Serge Wilmes, on Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 October 2026, the conference took place from 19 to 30 October 2026, bringing together 13,486 delegates from 186 countries.

During his address to the plenary session, Minister Wilmes emphasised that protecting biodiversity is essential to food security, public health, the preservation of water resources and resilience to climate change.

He also stressed the need to strengthen biodiversity financing at national and international levels. Luxembourg is currently finalising its first National Biodiversity Finance Plan, including an inventory of subsidies harmful to biodiversity, in line with Target 18 of the Global Biodiversity Framework.

Internationally, Luxembourg promotes an integrated approach to climate, biodiversity and sustainable development through its Climate Nexus approach, part of the International Climate Finance Strategy 2026-2030.

The minister highlighted Luxembourg's support for Rio Changemakers, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based platform designed to attract investment in projects benefiting the climate, biodiversity and local communities.

He also highlighted the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), which aims to provide financial incentives for tropical forest protection. Luxembourg will host its financial arm, the Tropical Forest Investment Fund (TFIF), and contribute €50 million between 2026 and 2030.

The minister further announced that Luxembourg was prepared to contribute €2 million in 2026 to the United Nations Environment Programme's Climate Fund and Nature Fund.

Minister Wilmes also held bilateral meetings with Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and Grethel Aguilar, Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), to discuss COP17 priorities and international cooperation on biodiversity.

Luxembourg also shared its experience as one of the first countries to complete an international voluntary peer review of its national biodiversity strategy.

"The first global review clearly shows us that we can no longer settle for the status quo. The global framework is in place, the science is unequivocal and the solutions exist. We must now accelerate implementation, mobilise more funding and integrate biodiversity into all public policies. Luxembourg will continue to fully assume its share of responsibility, convinced that protecting nature is inseparable from climate action, economic prosperity and the well-being of future generations," said Minister Wilmes.

COP17 focused on progress towards the 23 targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), adopted in 2022, as well as biodiversity financing, Indigenous peoples' participation and the operation of the Cali Fund.

Following more than 22 hours of final negotiations, delegates reached an agreement early on Saturday 31 October 2026, said the ministry.

The first global review highlighted progress in developing national biodiversity strategies but found that the world remains off track to meet its 2030 targets, with financing among the main challenges. Luxembourg will use the findings to inform the ongoing mid-term review of its third National Nature Protection Plan (PNPN3).

Negotiations also addressed the establishment of a permanent subsidiary body for Indigenous peoples and local communities, alongside measures to strengthen cooperation between biodiversity and climate initiatives, including nature-based solutions and the three Rio Conventions.