Officials highlight link between taxation and biodiversity conservation

Tax policy can play an important role in mobilizing resources for biodiversity conservation and environmental protection, tax officials say.

Tax revenues lost to profit shifting could otherwise help fund environmental initiatives.

In an interview with Armenpress during the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Yerevan, Andranik Hakobyan, Head of the Transfer Pricing Division of the State Revenue Committee’s International Taxation Department, and Armen Gyurjyan, Head of the Agreements Implementation and Information Exchange Division of the same department, discussed the link between taxation and nature conservation and how double taxation avoidance agreements can contribute to the development of a green economy.

“The link between taxes and nature conservation is actually more direct than it may seem at first glance. Nature conservation is largely a matter of financing. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework aims to mobilize at least $200 billion annually for environmental purposes, including through countries’ domestic resources, and taxes are the main source of domestic resources for states,” Hakobyan said.

It is a well-known fact that nature recognizes no borders. Therefore, protecting resources for its conservation must also extend beyond national borders, with efforts coordinated among all countries.

“In this context, the environmental burden is not solely the responsibility of the relevant agency. All government agencies have a role to play, even if indirectly. The tax system is part of this chain, and we believe that a transparent and predictable tax system is necessary for a sustainable future, one that will ensure the collection of the resources needed to support this agenda,” Gyurjyan said.

COP17 is being held in conjunction with the 12th meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CP-MOP-12) and the sixth meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing (NP-MOP-6).

COP17 marks the first global review of collective progress toward implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). The meetings are taking place in Yerevan from October 19 to 30.