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As COP16 approaches, Amy Nguyen looks at what business leaders can expect from the 16th Conference of the Parties on biodiversity. This year's theme is 'Peace with Nature'. Following the landmark outcome of COP15 – the Global Biodiversity Framework – this year's focus will be the implementation and advancing the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). It'll prove to be a crucial moment for policymakers to address biodiversity loss and climate change as an intertwined issue.
We've pulled a few interesting sections together for you, with excerpts from the article:
Leaders should align their strategies with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, particularly in protecting and restoring ecosystems.
Eva Zabey, CEO of the global coalition Business For Nature, recounts how nature has secured a clear spot in the business agenda, “Since COP15, engagement from business and finance has given confidence to policymakers. The CSRD in the EU is a concrete application of how companies are discussing nature and biodiversity at a board level. It has become more material, more recognised and we’ve witnessed more recruitment of nature and biodiversity specific roles in companies.”
Companies should leverage data and platforms to measure and act on their impacts, ensuring compliance with legislation like CSRD, and adopting frameworks like TNFD.
In the last two years, the landscape has developed at pace in pockets across the world. As CEO of Natcap, Sebastian Leape works at the frontier of the corporate nature and biodiversity agenda. He observes change as a story of three parts. Europe, Japan and everywhere else. “In Europe, as a result of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), thousands of companies are now starting to measure and report on biodiversity, water and pollution. Meanwhile in Japan, more companies have signed up as early adopters of the Taskforce for Nature Related Disclosures (TNFD) than anywhere else. In the rest of the world however, progress remains sporadic.”
Previous notions of limited access to data are dissolving as solutions scale. “Historically, there was a myth that we lacked the data to measure nature, because it is location specific with no single metric and technically more complicated that climate. That was front of mind in COP15. But the debate has moved on as more companies have published nature related disclosure with data available today. Now, the real gap is nature intelligence to align this data with frameworks like the TNFD, interpret it for your business and take action.” Leape argues.
Active collaboration with governments and stakeholders is crucial to influence policies and drive the transition to nature-positive business models.
Leape puts forward several points for policymakers to address. The first is driving and advocating for clarity on transition pathways. “This is paramount because nature is so industry and location specific. Companies need clarity on what is expected of their sector to align with the global biodiversity framework and other nature related targets.” he commented.
Businesses should prioritise investment in biodiversity, seek clarity on transition pathways, and support the elimination of harmful subsidies.
Investors have the opportunity to allocate capital in different ways to incentivise companies in how they manage nature and biodiversity. Leape argues that “The biggest asset owners have a huge role in setting standards and expectations for companies.”
Laura Garcia Velez, nature specialist for Lombard Odier zoned in on Target 15, “We would like to see the development of new mechanisms which enable further nature disclosures’ outcomes with the required global investments for biodiversity, Target 19.”
Target 19 commits governments to mobilise $200 billion per year, by 2030 and is inclusive of $30 billion in international finance.
New research published by UNEP FI highlights that private finance for nature has grown from $9.4 billion to over $102 billion in the last four years, helping to bridge said gap. The opportunity is significant as UNEP FI projects that that $1.45 trillion could flow into nature finance by 2030.
Overall, Amy paints a very optimistic picture. COP16 is an opportunity for businesses and their leaders to demonstrate their commitment to nature and biodiversity through their actions.
Identify where you should prioritise your efforts, understand your nature impacts and dependencies, disclose to stakeholders and take action.
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