Half of nations have met a UN deadline to report on how they are tackling nature loss within their borders, Carbon Brief analysis shows.This includes 11 of the 17 âmegadiverse nationsâ, countries that account for 70% of Earthâs biodiversity.
It also includes all of the G7 nations apart from the US, which is not part of the worldâs nature treaty.
All 196 countries that are part of the UN biodiversity treaty were due to submit their seventh ânational reportsâ by 28 February, of which 98 have done so.
Their submissions are supposed to provide key information for an upcoming global report on actions to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, in addition to a global review of progress due to be conducted by countries at the COP17 nature summit in Armenia in October this year.
At biodiversity talks in Rome in February, UN officials said that national reports submitted late will not be included in the global report due to a lack of time, but could still be considered in the global review.
Tracking nature action
In 2022, nations signed a landmark deal to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030, known as the âKunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Frameworkâ (GBF).
In an effort to make sure countries take action at the domestic level, the GBF included an âimplementation scheduleâ, involving the publishing of new national plans in 2024 and new national reports in 2026.
The two sets of documents were to inform both a global report and a global review, to be conducted by countries at COP17 in Armenia later this year. (This schedule mirrors the one set out for tackling climate change under the Paris Agreement.)
The deadline for nationsâ seventh national reports, which contain information on their progress towards meeting the 23 targets of the GBF based on a set of key indicators, was 28 February 2026.
According to Carbon Briefâs analysis of the UN Convention on Biological Diversityâs online reporting platform, 98 out of the 196 countries that are part of the nature convention (50%) submitted on time.
The map below shows countries that submitted their seventh national reports by the UNâs deadline.
Countries that submitted their seventh national reports to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity by the deadline of 28 February. Data source: Convention on Biological Diversity.
This includes 11 of the 17 âmegadiverse nationsâ that account for 70% of Earthâs biodiversity.
The megadiverse nations to meet the deadline were India, Venezuela, Indonesia, Madagascar, Peru, Malaysia, South Africa, Colombia, Mexico, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Australia.
It also includes all of the G7 nations (France, Germany, the UK, Japan, Italy and Canada), excluding the US, which has never ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The UKâs seventh national report shows that it is currently on track to meet just three of the GBFâs 23 targets.
This is according to a LinkedIn post from Dr David Cooper, former executive secretary of the CBD and current chair of the UKâs Joint Nature Conservation Committee, which coordinated the UKâs seventh national report,
The report shows the UK is not on track to meet one of the headline targets of the GBF, which is to protect 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030.
It reports that the proportion of land protected for nature is 7% in England, 18% in Scotland and 9% in Northern Ireland. (The figure is not given for Wales.)
National plans
In addition to the national reports, the upcoming global report and review will draw on countriesâ national plans.
Countries were meant to have submitted their new national plans, known as ânational biodiversity strategies and action plansâ (NBSAPs), by the start of COP16 in October 2024.
A joint investigation by Carbon Brief and the Guardian found that only 15% of member countries met that deadline.
Since then, the percentage of countries that have submitted a new NBSAP has risen to 39%.
According to the GBF and its underlying documents, countries that were ânot in a positionâ to meet the deadline to submit NBSAPs ahead of COP16 were requested to instead submit national targets. These submissions simply list biodiversity targets that countries will aim for, without an accompanying plan for how they will be achieved.
As of 2 March, 78% of nations had submitted national targets.
At biodiversity talks in Rome in February, UN officials said that national reports submitted late will not be included in the global report due to a lack of time, but could still be considered in the global review.
Funding âdelaysâ
At the Rome talks, some countries raised that they had faced âdifficulties in submitting [their national reports] on timeâ, according to the Earth Negotiations Bulletin.
Speaking on behalf of âmanyâ countries, Fiji said that there had been âtechnical and financial constraints faced by partiesâ in the preparation of their seventh national reports.
In a statement to Carbon Brief, a spokesperson for the Global Environment Facility, the body in charge of providing financial and technical assistance to countries for the preparation of their national reports, said âdelays in fund disbursement have occurred in some casesâ, adding:
âIn 2023, the GEF council approved support for the development of NBSAPs and the seventh national reports for all 139 eligible countries that requested assistance. This includes national grants of up to $450,000 per country and $6m in global technical assistance delivered through the UN Development Programme and UN Environment Programme.âAs of the end of January 2026, all 139 participating countries had benefited from technical assistance and 93% had accessed their national grants, with 11 countries yet to receive their funds. Delays in fund disbursement have occurred in some cases, compounded by procurement challenges and limited availability of technical expertise.â
The spokesperson added that the fund will âcontinue to engage closely with agencies and countries to support timely completion of NBSAPs and the seventh national reportsâ.
