The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the institutional representative of more than 45 million companies in over 170 countries, has formally announced its support for the Friends of the Cali Fund initiative, signaling a pivotal shift in the private sector’s engagement with global biodiversity conservation. In a detailed statement, the ICC welcomed the initiative’s recent declaration, which emphasizes the necessity of collaboration between governments and the private sector to address the long-standing barriers hindering the implementation of a multilateral mechanism for benefit sharing. The business community, through the ICC, expressed its readiness to engage with the initiative and other global stakeholders to construct a coherent, effective, and workable system that facilitates the sharing of benefits arising from the use of digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources.
This endorsement comes at a critical juncture as the international community prepares for the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Cali, Colombia. The ICC’s position underscores a growing recognition within the global business community that the conservation and sustainable use of nature are not merely environmental imperatives but are foundational to long-term economic stability and innovation. By supporting the principle of fair and equitable benefit sharing, the ICC aims to ensure that the eventual multilateral mechanism contributes meaningfully to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) while maintaining a landscape conducive to scientific research and commercial development.
The Evolution of Benefit Sharing: From Nagoya to Cali
The concept of "Access and Benefit-Sharing" (ABS) was first formalized under the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity and later refined by the 2010 Nagoya Protocol. Traditionally, ABS focused on physical genetic resources—such as seeds, plants, or microbes—where users would negotiate bilateral agreements with provider countries. However, the digital revolution in the life sciences has transformed how genetic information is utilized. Today, scientists and corporations frequently use Digital Sequence Information (DSI)—the digitized version of genetic codes—to develop vaccines, high-yield crops, and sustainable cosmetics without ever needing physical access to the original biological sample.
This technological leap created a "benefit-sharing gap." Developing nations, often the most biodiverse regions on the planet, argued that the use of DSI without financial compensation bypassed the spirit of the Nagoya Protocol. Conversely, the private sector and the scientific community raised concerns that overly restrictive regulations on DSI could stifle innovation and slow down responses to global crises, such as pandemics or food insecurity.
The breakthrough occurred at COP15 in Montreal in December 2022, where Parties adopted Decision 15/9. This decision established a commitment to create a multilateral mechanism for benefit sharing from the use of DSI, including a global fund. The "Friends of the Cali Fund" represents a coalition of countries and stakeholders dedicated to operationalizing this fund and ensuring its success at the upcoming negotiations in Colombia.
Aligning Business Interests with Global Biodiversity Goals
The ICC’s support for the Cali Fund is contingent upon the mechanism’s alignment with specific operational principles. Chief among these is the adherence to paragraph 9 of CBD Decision 15/9, which stipulates that any solution for DSI benefit sharing must be efficient, feasible, and practical. The ICC emphasizes that the mechanism must be proportionate, providing businesses with the legal certainty required to invest in long-term research and development.
A primary concern for the private sector is the potential for "economic distortion." If the multilateral mechanism imposes heavy administrative burdens or unpredictable financial levies, it could disadvantage companies that operate transparently while rewarding those that bypass the system. The ICC argues that the Cali Fund must be part of a "coherent benefit-sharing landscape," meaning it should align with existing national and international instruments to avoid a patchwork of conflicting regulations that could paralyze global supply chains.
The pharmaceutical, agricultural, and biotechnology sectors are particularly sensitive to these developments. According to industry data, the global "bioeconomy" is estimated to be worth trillions of dollars. For instance, the seed industry alone relies heavily on global germplasm exchanges to develop climate-resilient crops. A functional multilateral mechanism would ideally replace the current fragmented system with a streamlined process, allowing companies to contribute to a central fund in exchange for clear, standardized access to global DSI databases.
Chronology of the Multilateral Mechanism Development
The path toward the Cali Fund has been marked by several years of intensive diplomatic and technical negotiations:
- December 2022 (COP15, Montreal): Parties agree to establish a multilateral mechanism for DSI benefit sharing as part of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Decision 15/9 sets the stage for a two-year process to define the fund’s modalities.
- 2023 (Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group): A series of technical meetings are held to discuss how DSI is defined and how benefits (both monetary and non-monetary) should be collected and distributed.
- Early 2024 (Regional Consultations): Countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific meet to harmonize their positions, emphasizing that the fund must be "ambitious" and "mandatory" for users of DSI.
- August 2024 (The Cali Declaration): The "Friends of the Cali Fund" initiative is strengthened, calling for a dedicated financial vehicle that can receive contributions from the private sector and redistribute them to biodiversity-rich nations and Indigenous peoples.
- October 2024 (COP16, Cali): The upcoming summit where the final structure, governance, and triggers for payment into the Cali Fund are expected to be negotiated.
Technical Challenges and Governance Concerns
Despite the ICC’s optimistic stance, significant hurdles remain. One of the most contentious issues is the "trigger" for payment. Should companies pay a fee when they access a sequence from a public database, or should they pay a percentage of the profits generated from a final product? The scientific community has warned that charging for access to databases like GenBank could hinder open science, while the private sector argues that profit-sharing is complex to track and enforce.
The ICC has called for solutions to "remaining important conceptual, governance, and practical implementation issues." This includes the question of who will manage the fund. Developing nations often favor a fund managed under the United Nations or the CBD, while donor nations and private entities often prefer existing financial institutions like the Global Environment Facility (GEF) or a specialized independent body to ensure transparency and efficiency.
Furthermore, the "non-monetary" aspect of benefit sharing is equally vital. The ICC highlights that collaboration should include capacity building, technology transfer, and joint research initiatives. By fostering a environment where researchers from biodiversity-rich countries can work alongside global corporations, the mechanism can provide value beyond mere financial transactions.
Broader Economic and Environmental Implications
The success of the Cali Fund is seen as a litmus test for the "nature-positive" economy. If a workable mechanism is established, it could unlock billions of dollars in funding for conservation. The Kunming-Montreal GBF aims to protect 30% of the world’s land and oceans by 2030 (the "30 by 30" goal), a target that requires an estimated $200 billion in annual funding. Currently, there is a massive financing gap, and the private sector is viewed as a necessary contributor to fill this void.
From a business perspective, the ICC’s engagement is a strategic move to ensure that the "polluter pays" or "user pays" principles are applied in a way that is sustainable for industry. A well-designed Cali Fund could provide a "safe harbor" for companies, protecting them from accusations of "biopiracy" and enhancing their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) credentials.
Industry analysts suggest that if the Cali Fund is successful, it could serve as a model for other global commons issues, such as deep-sea mining or space resources. Conversely, a failure to reach an agreement in Cali could lead to a proliferation of unilateral national laws on DSI, creating a legal "nightmare" for multinational corporations and potentially slowing down the development of essential medicines and sustainable technologies.
Official Responses and Stakeholder Perspectives
While the ICC represents the voice of global business, other stakeholders have expressed a mix of hope and caution regarding the Cali Fund.
Environmental NGOs, such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Greenpeace, have generally welcomed the ICC’s willingness to engage but insist that the private sector’s contributions must be substantial and mandatory. They argue that voluntary schemes have historically failed to provide the scale of funding required to halt species extinction.
Representatives from the African Group and the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC) have emphasized that the fund must be "direct and accessible." They advocate for a governance structure that gives provider countries a significant say in how the money is spent, ensuring it reaches the local communities and Indigenous peoples who act as the primary stewards of biodiversity.
In response, the ICC maintains that for the fund to be sustainable, it must be "workable in practice for all concerned." This includes ensuring that the mechanism does not inadvertently penalize small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or academic researchers who may not have the legal departments necessary to navigate complex international regulations.
Conclusion: Toward a Coherent Global Mechanism
As the countdown to COP16 continues, the ICC’s endorsement of the Friends of the Cali Fund marks a significant step toward a consensus. The move from a bilateral, physical-access model to a multilateral, digital-benefit model represents one of the most complex legal and economic transitions in the history of international environmental law.
The ICC’s commitment to working with Parties and stakeholders suggests that the private sector is no longer viewing biodiversity regulation as a mere compliance cost, but as a necessary framework for the future of innovation. The challenge for negotiators in Cali will be to translate this high-level support into a granular, legally binding mechanism that satisfies the demands of developing nations for equity while meeting the private sector’s needs for clarity and certainty.
The outcome will determine whether the "Cali Fund" becomes a cornerstone of global environmental governance or a missed opportunity in the fight to preserve the Earth’s biological heritage. For the ICC and its millions of member businesses, the goal remains a system that supports research, rewards innovation, and ensures that the value of nature is recognized and shared by all.
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