In brief
At COP17 in Yerevan, Armenia, more than 100 nations adopted the Yerevan Pathway, a set of measures aimed at boosting national strategies, monitoring, financing, and inclusive participation to meet 2030 biodiversity targets. The agreement was reached after marathon talks and sets a timetable for accelerated action, while also deciding that COP18 will be held in Quito, Ecuador, in 2028.
On October 31, 2026, delegates at the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Yerevan reached a landmark agreement, adopting the Yerevan Pathway to accelerate biodiversity action through 2026‑2030, according to Xinhua.
Xinhua reported that the talks spanned roughly twelve hours, beginning Friday night and concluding Saturday morning. Delegates, numbering over 100 countries, burst into applause when COP17 President Hambardzum Matevosyan, Armenia’s environment minister, struck the gavel to finalize key decisions, including the first global biodiversity progress review and a new approach to resource mobilization.
Matevosyan said,
"I think we've achieved more than we could have expected in terms of the diversity of the agenda items, in terms of the importance of those items for many countries and parties, and in terms of the items that were anticipated for a long time that have managed to be approved and adopted."
According to Xinhua, the Yerevan Pathway was developed through a global review process and brings together four core thrusts: stronger national strategies, improved monitoring, increased financing, and technology transfer coupled with capacity‑building. It also emphasizes whole‑of‑government coordination and meaningful participation by Indigenous Peoples, local communities, women and young people.
Executive Secretary Astrid Schomaker of the CBD Secretariat said,
"It is wonderful that we have faced up to the gaps identified in the global report. We have adopted the Yerevan Pathway, and now we need to follow this pathway towards 2030."
The new pathway is intended to refocus efforts on the Kunming‑Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022, which set 23 targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Xinhua noted that with only four years remaining, the eco‑agenda faces mounting pressure to translate international commitments into measurable action under the theme of COP17: Taking Action for Nature.
In addition to agreeing on the Yerevan Pathway, COP17 delegates voted to hold the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP18) in Quito, Ecuador, in 2028, as announced by Xinhua.
The conference began on October 19 and was scheduled to conclude on Friday, but the intense negotiations extended into Saturday, underscoring the high level of engagement and the complexity of reaching consensus among a diverse group of stakeholders.
