Funding shortfall stalls global goal to protect 30% of land and oceans by 2030

In 2022, Canada chaired a UN-backed negotiation that produced a pact to safeguard 30% of the planet’s land and ocean by 2030, coupled with a $30 billion yearly financing pledge for developing nations. A fresh assessment presented in New York projects that, based on existing pledges, only 27% of terrestrial and 12% of marine areas will meet protection thresholds, leaving the ocean target especially distant. International contributions have reached just $1.1 billion per year, far below the needed level, with most money flowing from five major donors such as the World Bank and the European Union.

While Canada has ratified the High Seas Treaty and is set to host the Our Ocean Conference in Halifax, its domestic policy has pivoted toward accelerating resource projects, raising concerns about its own climate commitments. Advocates point to successes like over 50 countries reporting at least 30% land coverage, but stress that without substantially higher funding the global biodiversity agenda will fall short.