UN biodiversity conference restarts in Rome

The world’s largest nature conservation conference, COP16, resumed in Rome on Monday after negotiations in Colombia collapsed in disarray last year. The head of the meeting warned that rising global "polarization" hindered efforts to address environmental degradation and protect the planet. 

Two years after a landmark nature protection agreement, nations remain divided over funding to address ecosystem destruction. Delegates at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization headquarters were tasked with resolving the deadlock over funding, with tensions between wealthy and developing nations remaining a major obstacle after the failed COP16 talks in Cali, Colombia, in 2024.