GreenlyTeaching pack 3

Protecting nature: is the world on track for 2030?

Students examine the UN’s first report card on the global plan to halt nature loss, calculate the pace needed to protect 30% of the planet, and debate who should pay.

Ages 13–16Geography · Biology · Citizenship50–60 minutesData skills: rates, targets, reading a scorecardBased on: Greenly’s COP17 analysis

Learning objectives

Describe the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and its 30 by 30 target.
Use data to compare the current rate of progress with the rate needed to meet a target.
Evaluate arguments about responsibility for paying for nature protection.

Key words

BiodiversityThe variety of life on Earth: genes, species and ecosystems.

COP17The 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Yerevan, Armenia, 19–30 October 2026.

30 by 30Target 3 of the framework: protect or conserve 30% of the world’s land and 30% of its oceans by 2030.

Protected areaLand or sea set aside and managed to conserve nature, such as a national park or marine reserve.

Harmful subsidiesGovernment payments or tax breaks that encourage damage to nature, for example to overfishing or clearing land.

PartyA country (or the European Union) that has joined a UN treaty. The biodiversity convention has 196.

Starter 5 minutes

In 2022, almost every country agreed 23 targets to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. Halfway there, the UN found “fewer than half of national targets assessed by Parties are on track.” If you were halfway through a project and fewer than half your tasks were on track, what would you do?

Task 1: The report card 15 minutes

How the 23 global biodiversity targets compare

Relative progress on each target, from the UN’s State of Biodiversity Action report (October 2026). Ratings compare targets with each other.

Source: Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Chart: Greenly.

Which target is rated “highest”? What is it about? [2]
Target 8: minimising the impact of climate change on biodiversity and building resilience.
Name the three targets rated “lowest”. What do two of them have in common? [3]
Target 18 (cut harmful subsidies by $500bn a year), Target 19 (mobilise $200bn a year) and Target 23 (gender equality). Targets 18 and 19 are both about money and need action from finance ministries and businesses, not just environment ministries.

Task 2: Racing to 30% 15 minutes

Protected and conserved areas

Share of land and ocean protected or conserved, with the coverage countries’ plans would reach by 2030 (dashed).

Sources: UNEP-WCMC and IUCN; Nature (2026); UN Secretary-General. Chart: Greenly.

Land protection rose from 16.64% in 2020 to 18.5% in 2026. Calculate the average increase per year. [2]
(18.5 − 16.64) ÷ 6 = 1.86 ÷ 6 ≈ 0.31 percentage points per year.
How many percentage points per year are needed to reach 30% of land between 2026 and 2030? How many times faster is that than the current rate? [3]
(30 − 18.5) ÷ 4 = 2.875 ≈ 2.9 points per year. 2.875 ÷ 0.31 ≈ 9 times faster.
Which realm, land or ocean, is further from the target? Use the data. [2]
The ocean: about 10% protected (20 points short) compared with 18.5% of land (11.5 points short). Even with current plans the ocean would reach only about 12%.

Think about it. A study in Nature (October 2026) estimated that 26.8% of land is already in some kind of conservation area once national records are included, but many sites are not officially recognised, and only 1.3% of the ocean is in protected areas whose management has been checked. Does the size of an area matter more than how well it is looked after?

Task 3: Who should pay? 15 minutes

The facts. Rich countries promised at least $20 billion a year of international finance for nature by 2025, rising to $30 billion by 2030. The OECD estimates about $16 billion a year was delivered between 2023 and 2025. From all sources, the world spends about $78–91 billion a year against a goal of $200 billion. UN Environment estimates that for every $1 spent protecting nature, $30 goes towards destroying it. Ahead of COP17, Saudi Arabia and Qatar rejected an EU proposal to widen the group of donor countries.

By what percentage did international finance fall short of the 2025 milestone? [2]
(20 − 16) ÷ 20 × 100 = 20% short.
Extended answer. “Paying to protect nature should be the responsibility of the richest countries only.” Discuss. [6]
See the mark scheme in the teacher notes.

Extension

COP17 ends on 30 October 2026. Research the final decisions and decide whether they will speed up progress on 30 by 30 or on finance. Compare with Jubail Mangrove Park in Abu Dhabi: how does local restoration contribute to global targets?

Teacher notes

Key facts. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted at COP15 in December 2022, with 23 targets for 2030 and four goals for 2050. COP17 holds the first global review of progress. 162 Parties (83%) had set national targets when the UN report was prepared, compared with about half at the final review of the earlier Aichi targets in 2020.

Level	Mark scheme for question 7 (6 marks)
Level 3 (5–6)	Considers several viewpoints: historical responsibility and wealth of developed countries; the finance gap ($16bn delivered vs $20bn promised); arguments for a wider donor base including wealthy emerging economies; the role of private finance and of cutting harmful subsidies ($30 spent harming nature for every $1 protecting it). Reaches a justified conclusion.
Level 2 (3–4)	Some balance and some use of figures, but limited development.
Level 1 (1–2)	One-sided opinion with little evidence.

Discussion tip. Run question 7 as a role play: one group represents developed countries, one developing countries, one wealthy emerging economies, one businesses, one Indigenous peoples and local communities.