Ireland needs €400m annual funding to fix nature, minister says

Yerevan, Armenia. Minister for Nature Christopher O’Sullivan told delegates at the Cop17 global biodiversity summit that Ireland must secure the money required to protect its natural environment. He spoke on Wednesday, emphasizing that policy documents alone are insufficient without financial commitment.

An independent advisory committee previously determined that Ireland requires between €400 million and €700 million annually to halt and reverse wildlife loss, habitat destruction, and water body degradation. O’Sullivan stated that this figure represents the necessary investment to make the country’s restoration efforts effective.

The minister acknowledged that Ireland was the first member state in the European Union to present a national nature restoration plan. However, he noted that this achievement did not guarantee the funding needed to implement the strategy. He said, “It’s all well and good us being first to produce our nature restoration plan, now we have to put money behind it.”

O’Sullivan co-leads the EU delegation at the summit, where funding remains a primary point of contention. Countries have made new pledges totaling $500 million, or €443 million, toward a global biodiversity fund. Despite these additions, overall annual spending on biodiversity remains less than half of the $200 billion that nations agreed to provide by 2030.

Discussions at the summit also addressed the Cali Fund, a financing mechanism established during the previous conference in Colombia. The fund was designed to receive contributions from companies with high profits from nature, particularly pharmaceutical firms. O’Sullivan described the mechanism as not currently working, though he said negotiators remained committed to making it functional.

The EU is pushing for nations that have not contributed to the finance goals to pay their fair share. O’Sullivan pointed out that many of the largest contributors are European nations. He noted that the list of developed countries, which exempts developing nations from contributing, was last updated 20 years ago. He added, “Times have changed and there are new realities. We’d like to see modern realities reflected.”

Almost 200 countries signed the Convention on Biological Diversity and attend the biennial summit. The current gathering, scheduled to conclude on Friday, includes assessments of progress against pledges to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Reports indicate that while some improvements are visible, overall progress is far from the established targets.