UN falls short on coral funding as reefs face largest bleaching event on record

A United Nations emergency session on coral reefs came up short, with funding commitments well below what is needed to protect critical marine ecosystems. The Oct. 30 meeting held at COP16, the U.N. biodiversity summit, in Colombia, was underscored by recent data that show more than three-quarters of the world’s coral reefs are under threat of bleaching.

“The response has been too little and falls far short of the needs of coral nations,” Pierre Bardoux, the director of the Global Fund for Coral Reefs, said in an email statement, adding that participation from major member states and philanthropic organizations are still urgently needed.

So far, only $30 million has been committed, including a $10 million pledge from New Zealand made earlier this week. The fund hopes to raise $150 million by June 2025, when the U.N. Ocean Conference will be held.

From January 2023 to October 2024, rising ocean temperatures have subjected around 77% of the world’s reef area to bleaching-level heat stress, impacting the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a U.S. federal agency, told Mongabay by email.

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