Reducing subsidies harmful to nature, one of the important challenges of COP16 biodiversity
This is one of the objectives that the countries of the world have set for themselves to slow down the disappearance of life and whose implementation is currently being discussed at the Biodiversity COP in Cali: reducing subsidies that are harmful to nature. The stakes are considerable, the NGO Earth Track has calculated that in 2024 the governments of the planet have paid 2,600 billion dollars to sectors which contribute to destroying nature. It is therefore a powerful lever for acting in favor of ecosystems.
Subsidies harmful to nature go primarily to fossil fuels and agriculture, but also to water, transport, and even fishing. By signing the Kunming-Montreal agreement for biodiversity, countries have committed to evaluating the amount of these subsidies and reducing them by $500 billion per year by 2030.
But two years later, the subject was ignored at the COP in Cali. Martin Lok, director of the Capital Coalition: “ It’s difficult because reforming these subsidies means removing privileges, it means taking money back from some people. So as soon as we talk about reforming one of these subsidies, there is a group that stands up and says “no, no, no, we’re not going to change that!” »
Farmers, transporters, foresters… The solution is not to eliminate these subsidies, but to redirect them. “ In India, there is a policy of subsidizing access to fertilizer which is so embedded in the political system – because small farmers need help. It is very difficult to reform, a bit like the common agricultural policy in Europe. We know well that this rather contributes to an excess use of fertilizers. What we would like to be able to do is decide how we could subsidize small Indian farmers for practices that are more agro-ecological. », explains Sébastien Treyer, from IDDRI (Institute of Sustainable Development and International Relations).
To achieve this, political will is required. But a certain number of economic actors are also beginning to realize that these subsidies distort markets and hide risks which will increase in the future.