# Big pharma accused of ‘free-riding on nature’ as global fund attracts just $7,000

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/big-pharma-accused-of-free-riding-on-nature-as-global-fund-attracts-just-7000/
- Published: 2026-10-22T09:00:59+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-22T09:38:29+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/oct/22/cop17-cali-conservation-fund-pharmaceutical-freeriding-nature-aoe
- Topics: Business, Environment, Health, Medicine, Science

## Key points

- The Cali Fund has received just $7,085 in deposits.
- Major pharmaceutical companies have not contributed.
- The fund aims to raise $1bn annually for conservation.

## Summary

The Cali Fund, set up to channel money from businesses that profit from genetic resources into biodiversity conservation, has attracted only $7,085 in deposits, despite aiming to raise $1bn a year. The shortfall has drawn criticism of major pharmaceutical companies, which have made no contributions, and is renewing debate over how to fund conservation in lower-income countries.

The fund launched in February 2025 and had received commitments of $10,656 by the start of the Cop17 biodiversity summit in Armenia. An analysis by Zero Carbon Analytics estimated the 15 largest pharmaceutical companies could have contributed $756m based on voluntary guidelines of 1% of profits or 0.1% of revenue; together, they made about $161bn in profits in 2025. So far, the fund’s three private-sector contributions have come from small companies, while pharmaceutical firms argue the suggested contributions are too broad and overlap with existing laws.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.