Identify by 2025, and eliminate, phase out or reform incentives, including subsidies, harmful for biodiversity, in a proportionate, just, fair, effective and equitable way, while substantially and progressively reducing them by at least $500 billion per year by 2030, starting with the most harmful incentives, and scale up positive incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
Introduction
A number of global and regional institutions, such as the OECD, IMF, Eurostat, and the UN, have worked to raise awareness about the need to remove environmentally harmful subsidies. There is no international definition of environmentally harmful subsidies. By environmentally harmful subsidies, we mean here a grant, a tax exemption, or other financial support from public authorities that favours the production, sale, or consumption of items through processes harmful to nature. Put simply, it makes it easier for the producer, distributor or end-user to conduct such activities harmful to nature than it would be without this subsidy. The goal of eliminating environmentally harmful subsidies affects sector authorities and nature management, as well as commercial and non-commercial entities, such as agriculture, forestry, fishery, fossil fuels, transportation, aquaculture, and power and mineral development.
This target was not attained at the global level and was considered perhaps the target with least progress throughout that period. Target 18 provides a more concrete objective by specifying that by 2030, harmful incentives, including subsidies, must be eliminated, phased out or reformed by at least USD 500 billion per year, and by 2025 these incentives must be identified.
Policy Proposals for National Implementation
Immediately initiate national level analytical studies to identify biodiversity harmful incentives, including subsidies, by 2025, to ensure that each country contributes at the national level to the achievement of this global target.
Critically review all national subsidies that may negatively impact nature, with an aim to eliminate or redirect, particularly within agriculture, forestry, oil, transportation, aquaculture, power, and mineral extraction.
Shift subsidies from animal agriculture to plant-based production to minimise the artificially low price of animal products and reflect their true cost of production.
Do not provide public support for full-scale business projects until land use planning and environmental impacts are clarified.
Cut public funding for geological mapping for offshore oil and mineral extraction.
Cut public funding for research and innovation into harmful extractive industries such as offshore oil and deep seabed mining activities.
Design the financial sector's national framework to ensure that both investments and loans take nature into account.
Establish a national support and compensation scheme for those who wish to transition their production from livestock to crops for human consumption, for example through a risk mitigation scheme for farms that want to test plant production.
Support research, development and innovation of new plant-based food products and local untapped plant resources and allocate research funds to explore how more land can be utilised for the production of vegetables and legumes in the Nordic countries.
Phase out subsidies for forest fertilisation.
Reduce the risk in crop production by increasing funding for reparations in the case of crop damage following shifts to more sustainable production methods to encourage farmers to shift to more regenerative farming practices and increase production of food for human consumption.
Ensure that no financial flows are invested in activities that either directly or indirectly violate Indigenous Peoples’ rights.