COP15 must be the turning point for the biodiversity emergency
It’s time to give the protection of nature the same prominence as the climate crisis and business must grasp the opportunity to help redress the balance, writes Dr Helen Barber, associate director in blue-green infrastructure and biodiversity.
There is a crisis facing life on our planet, yet until recent years, you would hardly know it given the dearth of attention since the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) treaty was signed almost thirty years ago.
The threat to biodiversity has long been in the shadow of climate change – perhaps due to the complexity of the extinction crisis and the difficulty of articulating corresponding risks, responsibilities, and actions. Lately however, governments across the world have declared biodiversity emergencies and new economic understanding has emerged that puts nature at the heart of decision-making, with momentum building across the business sector.
This leads us to the upcoming 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD – or COP15 – which is taking place in Montreal after a two-year delay. At COP15, parties are under pressure to adopt measures that will restore the health of degraded habitats and ecosystems, and also address continuing threats. Within that, business has a critical role to play.
“At COP15, parties are under pressure to adopt measures that will restore the health of degraded habitats and ecosystems, and also address continuing threats. Within that, business has a critical role to play.”
The core work of COP15 will be the search for an agreement on a Global Biodiversity Framework, within which 22 different targets will be set out. Together, they represent the equivalent of the 1.5-degree target for global warming set in the Paris Agreement. For business, Target 15 on biodiversity and business will be key. It will set out how large businesses and financial institutions should assess their influence on nature, mandating action to reduce negative impacts from their activities, and increase positive ones.
To achieve those goals, businesses need certainty. This is something AECOM is actively promoting through engagement with the UK government, with green think-tanks and with forums such as the UK Business and Biodiversity Forum (UKBBF) – a business-to-business hub that supports companies to understand the value of biodiversity and how to integrate nature into their value chains and decision-making.
The UKBBF will be present at COP15, along with many other businesses and business organizations. They will set out how they can work with governments to create a framework for activity and in particular harness the potential of green finance to support nature in innovative ways that have positive lasting impacts.
Innovation, certainty and ambition are critical to progress, but transparency is also essential. The Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) is likely to result in mandatory proportionate disclosure procedures for nature, just as there is for carbon (under the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures). Through our work with UKBBF, we are also consulting on the TFND and the principles to help businesses develop a constructive approach to nature. Transparency also helps businesses to combat any unwarranted accusations of greenwash, and can show a positive direction of travel in reaching biodiversity goals.
Once business and finance are given clarity through these initiatives, we believe that there will be a strong flow of private capital toward a nature-positive economy. This in turn will stimulate the development of nature-proof projects and nature-proof organizations, not just to meet disclosure regulations but also to meet increased expectations from employees, investors, and other stakeholders. We are already seeing keen interest and action on this from our clients.
“Once business and finance are given clarity through these initiatives, we believe that there will be a strong flow of private capital toward a nature-positive economy.”
An understanding of – and accounting for – the natural assets on which our world and economy depend is intrinsic to a nature-positive economy. Tools that assess natural capital and measure progress in a scalable and verifiable way give investors and shareholders the confidence to support a new, quantifiable, and commercially valuable relationship with nature. This is one outcome of our ongoing work for the Natural Capital Laboratory in the Scottish Highlands, a live environment where we are developing bold new approaches to tackle the biodiversity crisis with our project partners.
If we are to tackle the rapid decline of ecosystems and habitats, now is the moment to reprioritise biodiversity through the economy. It’s also time for businesses to put nature firmly into their decision-making and COP15 is a key moment to create smart goals for everyone, making it a ‘Paris moment’ for nature.