Global Europe Instrument
The Wildlife Conservation Society EU Office and 97 conservation, environmental, animal health and welfare, and development organisations, as well as research and scientific institutions, youth groups, foundations, companies, livelihood associations, and local authorities urge the EU to raise the climate and environmental spending target for the next Global Europe Instrument (GEI) to at least 50%, with a minimum of 15% dedicated to biodiversity.
Healthy, high-integrity ecosystems—and the wildlife they sustain—underpin environmental, social, and economic resilience. They are essential to climate adaptation and mitigation, food and water security, public health and sanitation, economic development, jobs and sustainable livelihoods, and long-term peace and human security.
Explicitly prioritising biodiversity within the GEI would not only strengthen the effectiveness of EU external action, but would also be fully consistent with and would implement the international commitments and obligations of the EU and its Member States, through the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF), as well as under other relevant Multilateral Environmental Agreements.
We urge the EU to:
- Raise the climate and environmental spending target for GEI to at least 50%, with a minimum of 15% dedicated to biodiversity;
- Ensure biodiversity is systematically integrated across all relevant sectors, including international cooperation, partnerships, trade, and investment policies;
- Embed biodiversity objectives within the Global Gateway; and
- Move beyond a “do no harm” approach toward proactive investment in ecosystem resilience and nature-positive development.
Read the full letter.