Guyana to Host Inaugural Global Biodiversity Alliance Summit in July

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Guyana will host the launch of the Global Biodiversity Alliance in July bringing together world leaders in an attempt to halt the global environmental decline.

The inaugural Global Biodiversity Alliance Summit, is schedule from July 23-25 and will also bring together heads of state, scientists, Indigenous leaders and innovators.

The organizers said the aim is to galvanize international cooperation, secure measurable commitments, and develop solutions to protect 30 per cent of the world’s land and oceans by 2030 – a target commonly known as 30×30.

Nearly 200 countries pledged support for the goal during the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal in 2022. However, progress has since stalled, with mounting evidence that most governments are falling behind.

According to the United Nations’ Protected Planet Report 2024, countries would need to safeguard an area of land equal to the combined size of Brazil and Australia, and a marine area larger than the Indian Ocean, to meet the 30×30 target.

Weak progress on nature financing and stalled subsidy reforms, which could help mitigate climate change, were cited among the chief challenges at COP16 in Colombia last year.

The Guyana summit aims to address these issues by launching new financial tools to mobilize investment in biodiversity. These will include debt-for-nature swaps – where national debt is exchanged for conservation commitments – and biodiversity bonds to raise capital for nature-positive projects.

Additionally, the Alliance will work toward a global taxonomy for sustainable economic activities to help guide biodiversity-focused investment strategies.

President Irfaan Ali, addressing the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly last year, announced that the Alliance would also establish a market for biodiversity credits.

Biodiversity credits are certificates representing verified, measurable positive impacts on nature, such as restoring ecosystems, conserving wildlife, or promoting sustainable land use. Unlike carbon credits, they do not offset environmental damage but instead reward direct contributions to biodiversity.