A delegation of 40 representatives from financial institutions, including AXA Group, Federated Hermes Limited, and Storebrand Asset Management, will represent the Finance for Biodiversity (FfB) Foundation at COP17 in Yerevan, Armenia, from 19 to 30 October 2026. The delegation will call on global leaders to define key priorities for the comprehensive and accelerated implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and the alignment of financial flows with the mission to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.
Within the delegation, there will be representation by CEO Jan Erik Saugestad (Storebrand AM), CEO Stephan Morency (Fondaction), CCO Jacco Minnaar (Triodos Bank), together with senior representatives of AXA Group, BNP Paribas AM, Federated Hermes Limited, and Robeco, among others.
The delegation will participate in Finance & Biodiversity Day on 26 October, as well as a meeting for Ministers and CEOs of financial institutions, organised in partnership with the CBD Secretariat, the COP17 Presidency, and the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action (CFMCA). The delegation will also participate in the extensive programme of events led by FfB Foundation in the Dutch Pavilion and in its own Finance Area, co-hosted with FAIRR, in the Blue Zone of COP17.
Anita de Horde, Co-founding Executive Director, FfB Foundation, said:
“The Global Review shows that progress on aligning financial flows with nature is not moving fast enough. At COP17, we need global leaders to set clear priorities like reform harmful subsidies, strengthen nature-related financial risk management and scale public and private finance. Finance is ready to act; policy must enable it.”
Jan-Erik Saugestad, CEO Storebrand AM, commented:
The Global Biodiversity Framework cannot succeed without stronger action from both governments and the financial sector. Progress on private-sector engagement and aligning financial flows remains far too slow. COP17 is an opportunity to provide the policy certainty, transparency and accountability needed to mobilise capital at scale and treat nature loss as the systemic economic risk it is.”
Participation in the COP17 negotiations
FfB Foundation has been involved in CBD negotiations since the development of the Global Biodiversity Framework, calling for the alignment of financial flows and directly contributing to drafting the Resource Mobilisation Strategy. At COP17, FfB Foundation is part of the Finance Day Steering Committee and an observer of the UN Cali Fund for civil society. We will continue to follow the negotiations on the Global Review, the mainstreaming of biodiversity across economic sectors, the resource mobilisation strategy, and the monitoring of biodiversity finance flows.
Calling for clear finance-related priorities in GBF implementation
FfB Foundation will ask governments to ensure the global review drives the accelerated implementation of the GBF by defining actionable, finance-oriented priorities. They will also call for a more systematic assessment of the alignment of financial flows. COP17 will also be a key opportunity to operationalise the UN Cali Fund, including through government efforts to ensure legal certainty and benefits for potential contributors.
The members of the FfB working group on Public Policy Advocacy have formulated their policy ask for clear, actionable priorities by providing feedback to the CBD consultation on the draft global report for the global review in July 2026. They ask governments to focus on the supervision of nature-related financial risks, improving business and nature-related disclosure, building the real-economy transition along nature positive sectoral pathways, and creating economic incentives for the mobilisation of private finance, including the reform of environmentally harmful subsidies.
These demands for key priorities in GBF implementation to support the alignment of financial flows, in a whole-of-economy approach, have been established since COP16 (Key Recommendations for Governments from the Financial Sector, April 2024).
Hosting the Finance Area
The FfB Foundation, in partnership with FAIRR, will host the Finance Area in the Blue Zone at COP17. This space will facilitate key discussions, announcements, and networking among financial institutions, policymakers and conservationists, focusing on the alignment of financial flows with biodiversity goals. There will be a dedicated space for networking in the Booth and daily policy briefings for member financial institutions in the Country Room. We are grateful to AXA, Federated Hermes Limited, and Storebrand Asset Management for supporting FfB Foundation’s engagement at COP17.
The 18 financial institutions that will attend COP17 as part of the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation’s delegation are:
Amundi, Arkea Asset Management, AXA Group, BNP Paribas Asset Management, Caisse des Dépôts, Church Commissioners for England, E.SUN Financial Holding Company, Emirates National Bank of Dubai, Federated Hermes Ltd, Fidelity International, Fondaction, ILX Fund, LBP AM, Prince Bernhard Nature Fund (PBNF), Rabobank, Robeco, Storebrand Asset Management, and Triodos Bank.
The FfB Foundation will also host an extensive programme of events focusing on biodiversity finance and the alignment of financial flows with nature’s future. Visit our COP17 page to learn more about our activities and discover our full events programme.
Stay tuned for ongoing announcements from the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation during COP17.