Policy brief

Reforming subsidies to support the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

Instead of encouraging generation of environmental harm through subsidies, countries should assess options to reform subsidy policies to neutralise their effects on biodiversity or even find ways to reform subsidies so that they incentivise conservation and sustainable management of nature.

• Many countries subsidise economic activities that are harmful to biodiversity. Countries should assess options to reform subsidy policies to avoid harmful impacts for biodiversity and to incentivise nature-positive outcomes.
• A major achievement on fisheries’ subsidies reform was reached on June 2022, when the WTO Members agreed to curb subsidies to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and fishing on overfished stocks and in the unregulated high seas.
• Reforming subsidies comes with trade-offs that need to be considered and can be challenging to overcome. Regardless, measures can be taken to reform subsidy policies.
• Successful subsidy reforms are critical to resource mobilisation to implement the GBF.