COP15 Global Biodiversity Framework: 196 countries to require all large business and financial institutions to assess and disclose their risks, impacts and dependencies on nature 

 
 
 

What a way to finish 2022! With an unprecedented number of progressive companies attending COP15, and thanks to country negotiators working tirelessly over the past few weeks, a new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) has been adopted. Business for Nature welcomes this historic agreement as it defines our common goal to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030, commits governments to requiring all large business and financial institutions to assess and disclose their risks, impacts and dependencies on biodiversity and promises comprehensive reform of environmentally harmful subsidies. This simply wouldn’t have happened without the effort and teamwork from a huge number of organizations, including many of our partners and leading companies stepping and showing up.  

Business leadership and momentum  

Business for Nature’s Executive Director, Eva Zabey outlining the outcomes for buiness at the closing of the High Level Segment.

In a week of high stakes and high drama - with a tense World Cup thrown in for good measure (congratulations, Argentina) - it was exciting, if a little emotional to see a new global agreement on nature adopted by 196 countries in Montreal in the early hours of 19 December.  A united voice of progressive businesses had played a critical role in driving momentum and leadership in the run up to COP15, and many companies showed up on the ground to urge governments to secure a Paris-style agreement on nature. 

BfN hosted a Business Briefing session every morning to provide the latest updates on negotiations during COP15.

Hundreds of corporate leaders contributed to a wide range of business and finance events as either speakers or participants, including the official side events, the Business and Biodiversity Forum, the Business Hub in Place Quebec, the Nature Positive Pavilion, the Global Environment Facility pavilion and in offsite events such as TNFD’s Nature Labs. These rich conversations and discussions gave participants a shared a sense of responsibility and, importantly, a feeling of being part of a like-minded business community committed to tackling the collective challenges we face.  

We thank the CBD Secretariat and the GBF co-chairs who really lived up to the goal of delivering a Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) which takes a whole-of-society approach. Observers were welcomed in the negotiation rooms for most sessions -  an effective way to engage stakeholders directly. This promoted a genuine and continuous interest in the status of the negotiations.

With the full support of our partners, Business for Nature came to COP15 with three clear asks:    

1. A global goal to halt and reverse nature loss  - included as the mission

Eva Zabey speaks at the COP2COP Roundtable.

  • We celebrate the inclusion of a clear global goal to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, i.e. nature positive. This is equivalent to the 1.5 degrees goal for climate and as well as mobilizing all parts of society, will help drive progress towards a sustainable future for people, nature and the planet. It provides a rallying call for all, including business and finance, to play their part in re-shaping the world’s relationship with nature.  

2. Mandatory requirements for all large business and financial institutions to assess and disclose their impacts and dependencies on nature -requirements and value chains included 

John Sabet from Business for Nature speaking at an event in Place Quebec.

  • Target 15 of the new GBF provides a wake-up call for the private sector, with a clear message to all large and transnational businesses and financial institutions: get ready to assess and disclose risks, dependencies and impacts on biodiversity as governments will require you to do so at the latest by 2030.  

  • It is the first time in a multi-lateral agreement that governments have committed so explicitly of what they expect from business on nature. This sets out an ambition that will accelerate the transformation of our socio-economic systems and reward positive corporate actions to protect, restore and sustainably use nature.  

Shell Lin speaking at an event at the GEF Pavillion.

  • While the word mandatory didn’t make it into the final text, our #MakeItMandatory campaign in partnership with Capitals Coalition, had a huge impact and led to a clear and unprecedented outcome. The inclusion of language such as ‘ensure that’ and ‘including with requirements’ now creates an obligation on governments to require all large companies and financial institutions to assess and disclose their risks, impacts and dependencies on nature along their operations, supply and value chains and portfolios.  

  • Some commentators think this target could be one of the most transformational elements of the GBF.  

  • While it is disappointing that the numeric target to reduce negative impacts by half was removed, Target 15 as it stands will provide a baseline for countries to adopt such a target in the future, and business will also need to contribute to the other global targets in the rest of the GBF.  

3. Raised ambition on reforming all environmentally harmful subsidies by redirecting or eliminating them (Target 18) - included 

Michael Ofosuhene-Wise from Business for Nature speaks at an event in the China Pavilion.

  • The target on environmentally harmful subsidies will help reset the rules of our economic and financial systems and incentivize companies to choose nature positive outcomes.  

  • The final text outlines how harmful subsidies need to be reformed or eliminated, with a numeric target of $500 billion per year of reduction, providing a clear upgrade from the 2010 Aichi target and a concrete milestone for governments to work towards.   

  • Implementation will be critical to ensure money is redirected away from harming nature and towards restoring it and positive incentives are scaled-up. 

We’re very pleased with the outcomes of these two targets and the inclusion of the 2030 mission. Read our immediate reaction to the deal.

A raft of new nature-related announcements  

A number of crucial announcements were made at COP15. Here are some of the highlights: 

Maelle Pelisson and Michael Ofosuhene-Wise speak at the daily Business Briefing.

  • Luxury fashion firm Kering and beauty firm L’Occitane Group announced a new €300m Climate Fund for Nature managed by Mirova which will support projects focused on the protection and restoration of nature, with a particular focus on women’s empowerment and regenerative practices.   

  • The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) released new business guidance: ‘Roadmaps to nature positive: Guidelines to accelerate business accountability, ambition and action for a nature-positive future'. The guidance includes a checklist of actions for companies to assess, commit, transform and disclose their nature-related performance.  

  • On Finance Day, Germany’s Environment Minister, Steffi Lemke, committed new funding of EUR29m to the Taskforce of Nature-related Financial Disclosure.  This money will be used to complete the technical design work of the TNFD’s recommendations, encourage uptake globally and ensure alignment with emerging sustainability standards and regulations around the world.  

  • Mark Carney called on all Financial Institutions to incorporate nature and biodiversity into the transition plans.

  • Emmanuel Faber, Chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) announced that the ISSB will incorporate natural ecosystems, deforestation, water and biodiversity into its disclosure standards , with two experts appointed to support this process. 

  •  Ceres, Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), Finance for Biodiversity Pledge and Planet Tracker launched the Nature Action 100 – a global initiative focused on mobilizing investors to drive action on nature-related risks and dependencies, and to promote greater corporate ambition and action on tackling nature loss.  

Eva Zabey, Executive Director, Business for Nature speaking at a Nature Action Agenda panel.

Media Highlights

 

Eva Zabey speaking at a press conference on the state of play of the negotiations during the COP.

 

Looking ahead

Part of the Business for Nature team at Mount Royal Park.

Closing ceremony of the Nature Positive Pavilion.

After a two-year delay and in the context of an accelerating nature crisis, COP15 has delivered encouraging results for nature, and with unprecedented support and engagement from business and finance. But the hard work starts now. Businesses must step up to quickly translate the goals, policies and commitments made in the Global Biodiversity Framework into effective action, and efforts now need to focus on implementing the Framework at national level. Business for Nature will support this crucial work in 2023 through new funding from the Global Environment Facility in four countries including Colombia, South Africa and Malaysia.   

We look forward to continuing to work with all our partners, supporters and companies in our network in 2023. Until then, we thank you all once again and wish you a restful few weeks and look forward to catching up in the New Year.     

 
 

Four goals and 23 targets agreed in the negotiations  

In total four goals and 23 targets were discussed and agreed in Montreal.  As well as the bright spots highlighted above, there are several other things to call out including:  

2050 Goals 

  • Goal A: Human induced extinction is halted; genetic diversity is maintained, and the integrity of ecosystems are maintained or enhanced.  

  • Goal B: Ecosystem services are valued and restored, and biodiversity is sustainably used.  

  • Goal C: Monetary and non-monetary benefits of the use of genetic resources and DSI are shared fairly and equitably.  

  • Goal D: Financial flows are aligned with the objective of the GBF. This goal, along with several targets that reference private financial flows, provides the hook required to stimulate and scale up action from the financial sector. 

2030 Targets 

  • Target 1: all areas are under participatory spatial planning to address land and sea use change to bring the loss of areas of high biodiversity importance, including ecosystems of high ecological integrity, close to zero by 2030, while respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. 

  • Target 2: Ensure that by 2030, 30% of degraded ecosystems are under effective restoration  to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services.  

  • Target 3: a goal to protect 30% of land, inland waters and the ocean – this is a doubling and quadrupling of current protection of land and sea. The goal also recognized the rights and leadership of indigenous peoples and local communities. 

  • Target 7: reduce pollution to a level not harmful to biodiversity, considering cumulative impacts. It includes a 50% reduction of the overall risks of pesticides, which is less ambitious than the initial draft target to reduce the use of pesticides.   

  • Target 8: minimize the impact of climate change, including through nature-based solutions. The numerical figure on the contribution to at least 10 Gt CO was removed at the end. 

  • Target 10:  mixed outcome with the commitment to sustainably manage areas under productive use, reference to agroecology but also a reference to ‘sustainable intensification’ and the productivity of production systems.  

  • Target 14: mainstreaming by governments for the full integration of biodiversity across all levels of government and all sectors. Also includes a commitment to align public and private activities, fiscal and financial flows.  

  • Target 16: sustainable consumption through the adoption of policy or regulatory frameworks to improve access to information by consumers, although there was no target for a reduction of consumption.  

  • Target 19: annual finance to implement national biodiversity action plans of at least USD 200 billion by 2030 – twice as much as the 2020 baseline - as well as a commitment to secure USD 20 billion in international finance flows by 2025 and 30 billion by 2030. However, there are some concerns that even these resources may not be sufficient to bridge the biodiversity financing gap.  

  • Digital Sequence Information (DSI) and benefit sharing: this was a contentious issue coming into COP15 but seems like a good compromise was reached on the equitable sharing of benefits in Goal C and Target 13 although no specific refence was mentioned of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs). There was an agreement to host an ad hoc Working Group ahead of COP16 to discuss further as most countries agreed this topic needs further work.  

Other Framework targets did not secure such strong levels of ambition, including the lack of a numeric target to reduce unsustainable production and consumption and the lack of a ratchet mechanism to hold countries to account if targets are not met.  

Implementation  

23 countries and organizations, led by Colombia and supported by Germany, launched a partnership to accelerate country-led implementation. The launch of the NBSAP Acceleration Partnership will help facilitate fast track and upscale implementation of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). 

 
 
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