Biodiversity, Natural Capital & Ecosystems
Index
Notable News
Corporate Natural Capital Business Action & Goals
Tools
Biodiversity & Natural Capital Tools & Guidelines
Research
Nature-Positive Business Solutions, Needs & Opportunities
The State of the Planet & its Ecosystems
Collaboration
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News
Corporate Natural Capital Business Action & Goals
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KROGER — Announced a new sustainability goal to protect pollinators and biodiversity. The company will require all of its fresh produce suppliers to use Integrated Pest Management practices for all products supplied to Kroger by 2028 for medium- and large-sized growers and by 2030 for small-sized growers. (Feb 2024)
FIDELITY INTERNATIONAL — Published its Nature Roadmap, which describes how the company is working to protect and restore nature through its financing activities and investments. The roadmap lists several actions, including: 1) Ensuring robust governance and oversight of sustainability- and nature-related issues; 2) Integrating nature into the company’s ESG tools and ratings; 3) Integrating nature in its voting activities; 4) Embedding nature in its Sustainable Investing Framework; and 5) Engaging with policymakers and ensuring system-wide stewardship. Within its roadmap, Fidelity also set a commitment to address deforestation by engaging with companies exposed to deforestation risks (including through voting from 2024) and by directing capital to where it can have a positive impact. (Nov 2023)
NATURE ACTION 100 — In this first global investor engagement initiative to address biodiversity loss, 190 institutional investor participants, representing $23.6 trillion in assets under management, will engage with 100 companies in key sectors to call for action to protect and restore nature and thus mitigate financial risk.
PWC — Launched a global Centre for Nature Positive Business to bring together and expand capabilities in areas such as biodiversity, water, and regenerative agriculture and forestry. PwC will also double its team of nature specialists, from 500 to 1,000, over the next year, and plans to offer online nature and biodiversity training to upskill its 328,000 workforce. (April 2023)
SALESFORCE — Announced a Nature Positive Strategy outlining specific actions the company will take to accelerate its existing commitment to a net zero, nature positive future rooted in people and climate justice. According to Salesforce, this makes it one of the first global companies to establish a comprehensive Nature Positive Strategy. The strategy is comprised of three mutually reinforcing areas of action: reducing impacts on nature; leading on nature restoration at scale; and accelerating customer success and the nature positive movement. Specifically this includes measuring, managing, and developing an action plan to reduce its impacts and dependencies on nature across its value chain including data centers, offices, people, and products by 2025, which will align with recommendations from the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), as well as making investments, forging partnerships, and supporting customers and local communities to accelerate nature restoration and the nature positive movement. (April 2023)
KERING / L’OCCITANE — Global luxury group Kering and cosmetics company L’OCCITANE announced the creation of the Climate Fund for Nature. The fund, which will start in 2023, will mobilize resources from the luxury fashion and beauty sectors to support high-quality projects dedicated to nature protection and restoration, with a particular focus on women empowerment. The fund has a target of €300 million ($320 million), with €140 million ($149 million) already being committed. (Dec 2022)
CLIMATE ASSET MANAGEMENT — This “natural capital” investment company, a joint venture of HSBC Asset Management and climate investment and advisory firm Pollination, announced it has reached $650 million in commitments for projects that aim to protect the environment. The company has launched two funds, the Natural Capital Strategy, focused on regenerative agriculture and forestry projects in industrial countries, and the Nature Based Carbon Strategy, focused on nature-based carbon projects in developing countries. (Dec 2022)
IBERDROLA — Announced a new goal of achieving a net positive impact on the ecosystems and species where it operates by 2030. The company’s new Biodiversity Plan establishes the necessary mechanisms to ensure that its activity contributes, by the end of this decade, to generating better environmental conditions than those that existed previously. The plan will establish an accounting framework for quantifying impacts; set conservation and regeneration actions; and drive systemic change through broader action for biodiversity. (Dec 2022)
Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) pilot program— The World Business Council for Sustainable Development launched its TNFD pilot program with 23 of its member companies, which have a total market value of $1.3 trillion. TNFD is emerging as the framework to disclose nature-related risks and opportunities — similar to the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures. The pilot will help prepare the companies involved to enact future TNFD framework recommendations. It will cover energy, land use (including food, agriculture, and forestry) and the built environment — the value chains that account for about 90% on biodiversity. Corporates and financial institutions can pilot test the TNFD framework using the TNFD Piloting Guide to explore how it would apply in their specific business context. (Oct 2022)
ØRSTED / WWF — Announced a 5-year global partnership to advance offshore wind projects that strive to achieve a net-positive biodiversity impact. Specifically, the partnership will test tangible initiatives that improve ocean biodiversity; develop science-based recommendations for governments on how to incorporate biodiversity requirements in offshore wind development; and bring together those working toward a decarbonized energy system that aligns with marine protection and restoration. The partnership will start with a joint restoration project in the North Sea. (Oct 2022)
FINANCE FOR BIODIVERSITY PLEDGE — Added 9 financial institutions to its list of signatories. Signers commit to "call on global leaders and commit to protecting and restoring biodiversity through their finance activities and investments," setting and disclosing science-based biodiversity targets and annually reporting on progress. The Pledge now has 98 total signatories representing nearly $15 trillion in assets across 17 countries. The next signing round will take place in September/October 2022. (June 2022)
ØRSTED — Announced a new biodiversity initiative called ReCoral by Ørsted™ that will determine whether the company’s offshore wind turbines can serve as habitat for threatened indigenous corals. In the proof-of-concept phase, the company will partner with the Penghu Marine Biology Research Center to collect surplus coral spawn from the shorelines of the Penghu Islands near Taiwan, incubate the fertilized eggs, then settle the larvae on the bases of four wind turbines near those same islands. The initiative is part of Ørsted’s agenda to create a net-positive biodiversity impact for all new renewable energy projects it commissions from 2030 onward. (May 2022)
The CEOs of 14 business organizations and environmental NGOs—including Conservation International, WWF, and WBCSD—released a white paper urging the UN to adopt a “Global Goal for Nature” as part of the Mission of the new 10-year Global Biodiversity Framework that will be agreed upon at this year’s COP15 biodiversity summit. The goal proposes net positive improvement in nature by 2030 (2020 baseline), and full nature recovery by 2050. (March 2022)
TERRAFORMATION / BANKERS WITHOUT BOUNDARIES — Reforestation company Terraformation and UK nonprofit Bankers Without Boundaries aim to raise up to $100 million for a new fund focused on investing in biodiverse, regenerative forestry projects. (March 2022)
List of Corporate Natural Capital Business Action and Goals, 2021-2019 (PDF)
Tools
Biodiversity & Natural Capital Tools & Guidelines
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Accountability for Nature: Comparison of Nature-related Assessment and Disclosure Frameworks and Standards (United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and UNEP Finance Initiative (UNEP FI)) — Provides comparative research on seven leading standards, frameworks and systems for assessment and disclosure on nature-related issues. (Standards include CDP disclosure system, European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS); Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards; International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Standards; Natural Capital Protocol; Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) target setting guidance; and Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework.) The report gives an overview of key methodological and conceptual trends, highlighting similarities and divergences related to their differing purposes. It offers 11 key findings on topics such as coverage of sectors, value chains, nature-related impacts, and targets; and finds that the reviewed approaches are demonstrating an increasing level of alignment in key concepts and methodological approaches. (Feb 2024)
Assessing nature-related risks and opportunities: case studies from Global Canopy’s 2023 TNFD piloting programme (Global Canopy) — These case studies, featuring six companies, detail a program run by Global Canopy to pilot the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). They showcase each company’s experience with piloting the TNFD’s LEAP (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare) voluntary assessment approach, providing other organizations considering adopting TNFD recommendations practical examples and insights. Case studies include three investment managers, two infrastructure developers, and a grocery retailer. (Feb 2024)
Natural Capital Footprint Impact (Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing and the Natural Capital (NatCap) Project) — This new, open-source ecosystem services footprinting tool helps companies and investors assess the potential impacts of projects and activities on natural ecosystems. It assesses the impact of physical infrastructure and can help in low-impact placement. NatCap is also providing a case study of the tool as additional guidance on how to assess nature-related impacts and dependencies. (Oct 2023)
Raising the Ambition for Nature (The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, the Fashion Pact, and Conservation International) — This “primer on the first science-based targets for nature for the fashion, apparel, and textile sector” provides a critical introduction for the industry on how to set measurable nature targets. It gives an overview of science-based targets for nature; how companies can set targets; an illustrative (hypothetical) case study to make the process clearer; and immediate actions companies can take to address nature loss. (July 2023)
Science Based Targets for Nature (Science Based Targets Network (SBTN)) — SBTN launched the world’s first science-based targets for nature, complementing SBTi’s climate targets. These will provide guidance for companies to holistically assess and prioritize their environmental impacts, and to prepare to set targets, beginning with freshwater and land and expanding to biodiversity and ocean targets. To begin, SBTN has opened the guidance to 17 companies, which are preparing to submit targets for validation this year. Target validation for companies beyond this pilot group aims to begin in early 2024. SBTN also released a step-by-step action guide for helping companies prepare. (May 2023)
Biodiversity Risk Filter (BRF) (WWF) — The BRF is a free web-based tool to help companies and financial institutions identify and take action on biodiversity-related risks across their operations, value chains, and investments. It aims to break down complex biodiversity information and gives businesses practical, implementable information in a visually comprehensible way. The tool includes over 50 biodiversity-relevant data layers, including information on species and ecosystems, protected areas, and the most important pressures on biodiversity such as deforestation, habitat destruction, pollution, and land use change. This complements WWF’s existing Water Risk Filter. (Jan 2023)
Nature Risk Profile — UNEP and S&P Global launched a new methodology for analyzing companies’ impacts and dependencies on nature. The new methodology outlines metrics and data that enable companies and investors to identify and quantify nature-related risks and exposure, combining company-level information and best-practice nature-related data. According to UNEP and S&P Global, the methodology aligns with the Taskforce on Nature-Related Disclosures’ approach, and will support the implementation of its disclosure framework. (Jan 2023)
Guiding Principles for Corporate Climate Leadership on the Role of Nature-based Solutions
— This guidance, produced by the We Mean Business Coalition, aims to help companies navigate the credible use of nature-based solutions to achieve their climate goals.
This includes: cutting emissions from across companies’ value chains in line with the science; better protecting, managing and restoring nature within their value chains and as part of their emissions targets; and investing in protecting and restoring nature beyond their value chains. The guidance also emphasizes the importance of reporting and communicating transparently and ensuring responsible policy engagement on climate and nature. (Jan 2023)
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IUCN Restoration Barometer (The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)) Investments of $26 billion across 18 countries have brought 14 million hectares of degraded landscapes under restoration. The report details how these countries are using IUCN’s Restoration Barometer tool on their restoration commitments (which total 48 million hectares by 2030) to track restoration progress and its benefits. Using the tool, countries can also record their restoration policies, modes of planning, monitoring systems and funding structures that make their efforts possible and ensure they will continue. In the future, the Barometer will be made available to companies, with 34 companies currently piloting the tool. (Dec 2022)
Biodiversity Screening Metrics (MSCI) — Investment services provider MSCI is launching two new screening tools to help investors identify companies at risk of contributing to biodiversity loss and deforestation. These tools, which will be available in 2023, combine ESG, climate, and geolocation data to screen for biodiversity-sensitive areas and for deforestation risks, either from direct operations or production or reliance on commodities that are key drivers of deforestation. (Dec 2022)
Roadmaps to Nature Positive — These draft “Guidelines to accelerate business accountability, ambition and action for a nature-positive future,” produced by WBCSD along with 60 companies and partners, provide a checklist of actions to assess, commit, transform and disclose corporate performance. The guidance identifies six value-chain specific objectives for businesses to align their nature action with climate action: assessing materiality, setting targets, deploying resources, supporting an enabling policy environment, using credible metrics, and reporting progress. Stakeholders can engage in the consultation process until January 31, 2023. (Dec 2022)
Biocredits to finance nature and people: emerging lessons (International Institute for Environment and Development) — Explores a new kind of financial asset, biocredits, which are different from biodiversity offsets. Biocredits are units of biodiversity that are measurable and traceable and so can be traded and sold to individuals, corporates, and government, with the majority of revenues going to Indigenous peoples and local communities involved in conservation or affected by biodiversity loss. This report examines three existing biocredit schemes, which differ in how they define a unit, set prices, generate sales and distribute revenue to local communities and Indigenous peoples, while all preserve biodiversity under threat, restore an ecosystem, or support conservation. The report also includes recommendations on developing these schemes, such as how to measure a unit of biodiversity, how to generate demand for biocredits, and how best to channel revenue. (Dec 2022)
environmental DNA (eDNA) (NatureMetrics) — This new subscription service, from nature intelligence technology provider NatureMetrics, will provide nature-impact monitoring to enable standardized performance measurement of natural ecosystems, such as a freshwater ecosystem at a hydropower site. The technology captures traces of species present to provide an accurate understanding of the state of nature within site-based assets and provide insights into the drivers of change. (Dec 2022)
Biodiversity Finance Reference Guide (International Finance Corporation (IFC)) — This guide, aimed at financial institutions and investors, provides an indicative list of investment projects, activities, and components that help protect, maintain, or enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services, as well as promote the sustainable management of natural resources. This guide provides a structured approach for investors and financiers to identify eligible use of proceeds that constitute biodiversity finance. Companies can also use the guide to identify opportunities to address the key drivers of biodiversity loss in their production practices, to integrate nature-based solutions into their operations, or to develop nature conservation activities. (Nov 2022)
Kelp forest monitoring (Kelpwatch.org) — A new mapping tool to inform areas most suitable for restoration of kelp forests, known as “the rainforests of the ocean” because they provide critical habitats for hundreds of marine species, coastline protection from storms, and serve as an active ingredient in food, cosmetics, and biofuel. (April 2022)
Biodiversity Insights Report (Textile Exchange) — Provides an industry baseline for fashion and textile companies’ efforts to monitor and minimize their impacts on biodiversity, using data that 157 companies submitted through the Textile Exchange Biodiversity Benchmark (launched in 2020). 51% of companies say biodiversity risk is a priority, and 8% “have an explicit biodiversity strategy.” 80% are using more certified materials. (Nov 2021)
“Mapping Nature-Based Solutions and Natural Climate Solutions” (WBCSD, January 2021) offers guidance to help companies better understand the concept and scope of nature-based solutions and natural climate solutions. The report also maps key initiatives, platforms, and conventions for collective action to accelerate investments at scale. (January 2021)
Research
The Value of Natural Capital
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Cloud Forest Assets: Financing a Valuable Nature-Based Solution (Earth Security) Of the 979 hydropower dams currently operating in the 25 cloud forest countries, more than half depend on water from cloud forests, representing billions of dollars of electricity production that take nature’s ecosystem services for granted. This report sets out proposals, developed in collaboration with banks, investors and natural-asset experts, to enable cloud forest countries to turn the protection of their forests into an income-generating initiative by creating new sustainable income streams that can bundle carbon sequestration with the water services that cloud forests provide. (Dec 2022)
Nature in an Era of Crises (Taskforce on Nature Markets) — Provides a detailed taxonomy and economic valuation of nature markets, i.e., those markets that explicitly value and trade nature, including voluntary carbon credits, conservation, soft commodities, and nature-based solutions for carbon sequestration.
The report finds nature markets already produce and trade more than US$7 trillion worth of goods and services annually, equivalent to 8.6% of global GDP, with more than half of this value coming from agricultural production. However,
most nature markets are currently not specifically designed to achieve sustainable economic prosperity and
may actually be drivers of nature loss. The report concludes that nature should be treated as a regenerative asset, and
that nature market investments should be channeled to nature markets that deliver equitable, nature-positive outcomes, and away from those that do not.
(Oct 2022)
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The Value of US Coral Reefs for Flood Risk Reduction (Nature Sustainability) — Finds coral reefs offer over $1.8 billion in flood protection to coastal communities of the United States annually. It estimated losing 1 meter of reef height would cause 100-year flooding zones to increase by 23%, impacting 53,800 more people (a 62% increase) and 90% more property while increasing damages by $5.3 billion. (April 2021)
The U.K.'s marine assets—including renewable energy production, tourism attraction, sustainable fishing, and carbon sequestration—have reached a value of $290 billion, according to the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics. The value of marine renewable energy production grew 37x from 2008 to 2018. (April 2021)
“The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review” (Cambridge University and commissioned by the U.K. government) analyzes the relationship between ecosystem processes and historical economic activity and suggests new ways to account for nature in economics and decision-making. Findings include: (February 2021)
- We exceeded our global ecological footprint in the 1970s and currently require 1.6 Earths to meet the demands of current living standards. (pg. 126)
- Between 1992 and 2014, produced capital (i.e., factories and roads) doubled, and human capital increased by about 30%, whereas the stock of natural capital per person declined by nearly 40%. (pg. 337)
- Extinction rates are 100–1,000 times higher than the planet's baseline rate, and that 20% of the remaining species could become extinct within the next several decades. (pg. 35)
“Valuing Nature Conservation” (McKinsey & Co., September 2020) makes a quantifiable business case for nature conservation and its impact on climate, economies, and health. The report details the benefits and costs, across six different scenarios, of achieving the UN Convention on Biological Diversity global target to protect 30% of the planet by 2030, while stimulating support of around 30 million jobs and $500 billion in ecotourism and sustainable fishing. (September 2020)
Natural Capital Risks
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State of Finance for Nature 2023 (United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)) — For the first time, this 2023 edition estimates the scale of nature-negative finance flows from both public and private sector sources globally. The report finds that close to $7 trillion is invested globally each year in activities that have a direct negative impact on nature from both public and private sector sources, equivalent to roughly 7% of global GDP. The report also finds that in 2022 investments in nature-based solutions totaled approximately $200 billion (a thirtieth of harmful finance flows). 82% of this came from governments ($165 billion) and 18% from private finance ($35 billion). The five industries channeling most of the negative financial flows (construction, electric utilities, real estate, oil & gas, and food & tobacco) represent 16% of overall investment flows in the economy but 43% of nature-negative flows associated with the destruction of natural habitats. (Dec 2023)
A new report from the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) finds that more than 3,500 harmful invasive species cost society more than $423 billion per year. The Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control finds that invasive alien species are a major factor in 60% of global animal and plant extinctions that they have recorded, and are the only driver in 16%. (Sept 2023)
Nature & Biodiversity Risk (S&P Global Sustainable1) — This new dataset assesses nature-related impacts and dependencies across a company's direct operations, and can be applied at the asset, company, and portfolio level. The dataset, covering 17,000 companies and 1.6 million assets, will support companies, investors, and entities as they seek to understand, manage, and mitigate exposure of corporates and portfolios to nature related risks and impacts. It provides a number of new nature-related risk metrics including a dependency score (measuring level of reliance on 21 different ecosystem services) and an ecosystem footprint measure (measuring direct operational impact on nature and biodiversity), enabling greater understanding of a company or asset's dependency and impact on nature. The dataset, which is aligned with the LEAP risk and opportunity assessment approach (as recommended by the TNFD) can be leveraged by market participants to understand their nature-related risks and for more transparent alignment with TNFD recommendations. (May 2023)
55% of the world’s GDP, $58 trillion, is exposed to material nature risk, up from $44 trillion in 2020, according to research by PwC. All 163 economic sectors analyzed have a portion of their value chain that is highly dependent on nature, with the majority of economic risk falling in supply chains, not corporate operations (which only makes up 12% of risk). 50.6% of the market value of listed companies on 19 major stock exchanges are also exposed to material nature risk. (April 2023)
The Taskforce has adopted the notion of scopes (e.g. scope 1, 2, and 3) to this context, as direct operations, upstream, downstream, and financed. The TNFD has also released draft guidance on engagement with affected stakeholders; and draft guidance for four sectors: Agriculture & Food; Mining & Metals; Energy; and Financial Institutions, and for four biomes, including tropical forests. Additional sector and biome guidance will be released in the coming months on a rolling basis. There will be a 60-day consultation process from 30 March to 1 June 2023. Then, the final recommendations, based on feedback and pilot testing, will be published in September 2023. (April 2023)
The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) released its third iteration of its beta framework for nature-related risk management and disclosures (v0.3). This update from v0.2 released in June includes several additions (Nov 2022):
- Expansion of draft disclosure recommendations to incorporate dependencies and impacts on nature alongside risks and opportunities;
- New disclosure recommendations related to supply chain traceability, to quality of stakeholders, and to alignment with climate and nature targets;
- An adaptive approach to accommodate various reporting needs;
- Additional metrics and assessment guidance;
- Draft guidance on target-setting;
- Two discussion papers on scenarios and on societal dimensions of nature-related risk management and disclosure.
The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) launched three initiatives to engage stakeholders in the development of a framework for companies and financial institutions to assess and disclose their nature-related risks and opportunities. (May 2022)
- Beta framework pilot testing: The Taskforce enlisted four organizations—the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, FSD Africa, Global Canopy, and UNEP-FI—to test the beta framework across geographies and sectors.
- Consultation groups: TNFD formed six national/regional groups—with representation from business, finance, civil society organizations, and the public sector—to expand outreach and engagement.
- Engaging indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC): In partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature, TNFD will engage with IPLCS and ensure their voices and perspectives are incorporated into the framework.
TNFD will release its final recommendations for the framework in September 2023.
Over one-third of global companies are associated with habitat loss, according to a new Moody’s report: Integrating Biodiversity into a Risk Assessment Framework. 38% of 5,300 large, publicly-traded global companies operate at least one facility causing loss of habitat and are a risk to biodiversity. (June 2021)
“Integrating Natural Capital in Risk Assessments: A Step-by-Step Guide for Banks” (Natural Capital Finance Alliance and PwC, 2019) offers step-by-step guidance to help financial institutions conduct a rapid natural capital risk assessment. The report guides users through two processes:
- Rapid Natural Capital Risk Assessment, which allows an institution to quickly identify the areas of highest natural capital risk.
- Sector/Asset Analysis, which uses location-specific environmental data to assess the likelihood and likely impact of disruption that businesses in their portfolios face due to environmental change. This could notably help financial institutions in their climate scenario analyses as recommended by the TCFD.
Nature-Positive Business Solutions, Needs & Opportunities
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Enhancing Habitats for Reptiles and Amphibians (Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC)) — This white paper details corporate conservation efforts to protect herptiles. Included are case studies focused on a variety of efforts in the U.S., Canada, and Germany. They highlight ten companies’ activities, including CEF member WM, ranging from improving road signage and fencing, to monitoring water quality and controlling invasive species, to improving habitats and building shelter resources. (April 2024)
Reaching New Heights in Avian Conservation: Corporate Conservation (Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC)) — Shares the various strategies that 10 WHC members employ at corporate sites around the world to conserve bird populations and educate the community about these critical species. These projects range from increased nesting resources to robust species monitoring efforts, and can be accommodated with a broad range of personnel involvement, money, and time. (Jan 2024)
Bloom or Bust? Unlocking transition finance to reduce biodiversity loss (UBS) — Explores how to align finance, government, and partnerships to address biodiversity challenges. To address the “biodiversity investment gap” of $700 billion annually to meet the 2030 goal to reverse biodiversity loss, private capital must be harnessed. This will require better aligned economic incentives, such as subsidies that motivate the responsible use of resources rather than the depletion of natural capital; utilize methodologies that value nature to enable its inclusion in financial statements and thus decision-making; and align global biodiversity targets with national implementation plans, providing policy certainty and incentivizing investments. The report also discusses innovative nature-focused financial approaches, including nature-focused transition finance, such as green loans and bonds; investments in underlying ecosystem health; and the use of blended finance and philanthropic capital. (Jan 2024)
Biodiversity Credits: Demand Analysis and Market Outlook and Biodiversity Credits: A Guide to Support Early Use with High Integrity (World Economic Forum Biodiversity Credits Initiative) — These two reports capture the current state of the market for voluntary biodiversity credits and provide new information on key demand drivers and potential uses of the credits by early movers. The first report estimates that with effective progress on governance, global demand for voluntary biodiversity credits could reach $2 billion in 2030 and $69 billion by 2050. The second offers guidance on how companies can purchase credits with high integrity while standards and advice are evolving, and how they can avoid using biodiversity credits in ways that harm nature and local communities and expose buyers to strategic, operational and reputational risk. (Dec 2023)
Nature Strategy Handbook (Business for Nature) — This guide supports businesses in developing their nature strategies. It provides a set of guiding questions, recommendations, and resources for how to develop a strategy for nature, focused on four high-level actions (Assess, Commit, Transform, and Disclose). Connected with the handbook, Business for Nature also launched a campaign encouraging businesses and financial institutions to develop and share their nature strategies. (Nov 2023)
Building a Nature-Positive Energy Transformation (World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG)) — Estimates the energy transition’s overall impact through 30 key metrics across eight impact areas: air quality, water quality, ecosystems and biodiversity, area footprint, water use, free flowing rivers, society and human wellbeing, and mining. The results demonstrate that across those metrics, a Rapid Transition is 2-16 times better for nature and society as the business-as-usual scenario. This is especially pronounced with air and water quality, biodiversity loss, and land lost and degraded from climate impacts, among other indicators. Additional benefits of a Rapid Transition include: twice as many jobs projected to be created; and $2 trillion will be avoided in infrastructure damage by reducing climate disaster frequency and intensity. The report notes that in a fossil fuel-powered future, land lost to flooding, fires, and desertification will be “considerably larger” than the footprint for renewable energy development. It also identifies ways to prevent additional demands on water use, rivers, and land from renewable energy development. (Nov 2023)
The State of nature tech: Building confidence in a growing market (MRV Collective, Serena, and Nature4Climate) — Highlights key trends that are occurring throughout the nature tech market and how they support nature-based solutions (NbS). Accumulated nature tech investments have grown to about $7.5 billion between 2018 and 2022. “Food and agriculture” nature tech received the largest share of investment during those years ($5.31 billion), followed by “MRV (monitoring, reporting, and verifying) and biodiversity credits” ($1.23 billion). The report then examines the challenges of moving emerging solutions to a much greater scale where their full environmental, social, and financial potential can be realized. This includes focusing in on the importance of MRV and its role in driving transparency and data integrity. The report concludes with several of case studies of nature tech innovations, products, and concepts. (Oct 2023)
Roadmaps to Nature Positive: Foundations for all Businesses (World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)) — This is the first in a series of roadmaps being developed by WBCSD to provide guidance for companies to accelerate action toward credible “nature-positive” initiatives. The roadmaps offer analysis and guidance for business in general, and for four high-impact systems: the agri-food system, the forest products sector, the built environment system and the energy system. They offer guidance for understanding nature-related dependencies and impacts, risks and opportunities (DIRO); accelerating target setting, financial risk assessments, and nature-related disclosures; and establishing ambitious nature-positive strategies, investments, and transition plans. (Sept 2023)
Nature Positive: Role of the Household and Personal Care (World Economic Forum (WEF)) — The household products and personal care sector could generate up to $62 billion in annual business value by 2030 if it puts nature at the heart of operations. The report finds that reusing 10%-20% of plastic products could prevent the equivalent of nearly 50% of marine plastic pollution every year. It recommends five priority actions for the sector: Improve water stewardship; Source responsibly; Influence customer actions on product use and disposal; Support nature conservation and restoration; and Expand circularity, product innovation and collaboration. (Sept 2023)
Findings of a high-level scoping study exploring the case for a global nature-related public data facility (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)) — High quality, nature-related data is a global public good increasingly demanded by a wide array of public, private and civil society stakeholders, according to this scoping study by 12 organizations led by TNFD. The study found that wherever possible, baseline nature-related data should be accessible to a broad range of stakeholders and not kept behind paywalls or in proprietary systems. It explored three possible options for better scaling, connecting, and funding nature-related data improvements: a nature data catalogue, a centralized database, and a distributed access public data facility). The study recommends a global nature-related public data facility to connect and expand existing data platforms at a national and sub national level and incorporate the growing number of private sector nature-related data sources into a shared and open platform. (Aug 2023)
Harnessing Biodiversity Credits for People and Planet (Nature Finance) — Summarizes current developments around biodiversity credits and outlines a Global Roadmap for stakeholders to significantly increase international financing and strengthen governance frameworks for the conservation and preservation of biodiversity. The paper provides an overview of recent developments in the biodiversity credits landscape, including how early-stage innovations are addressing key design challenges around high-integrity supply, scaled demand, and equitable distribution of benefits. It then explores how to harness these innovations to scale finance for biodiversity in a timely, effective, and equitable way. The report then discusses the new Global Biodiversity Credits Roadmap (see Public Policy section), its objectives, and steps to establish an Advisory Panel to inform and accelerate the Roadmap’s development and uptake, with a goal of having its first meeting in July 2023. (June 2023)
The Evolution of Corporate Behaviour to Tackle Biodiversity Challenges (Imperial College Business School and HSBC) — Analyzes corporate sustainability efforts between 2000 and 2021 that address biodiversity issues. Using a database of almost 652,000 initiatives, the report found that just 6% related to biodiversity, 96% of which were land-based. But it also reported that (June 2023):
- Corporate biodiversity initiatives launched globally more than quadrupled between 2005 and 2021;
- Big businesses are shifting biodiversity initiatives toward long-term NGO partnerships and away from communications and donations to NGOs;
- Businesses are looking at changing their business models to incorporate nature conservation and/or regeneration as a strategic priority, especially in the utilities, industrials, materials, and consumer goods sectors.
Restoring Ecosystems Through Invasive Species Control (Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC)) — This white paper details key methods corporations can use to control invasive species, a vital part of habitat restoration and conservation projects. These efforts also provide opportunities for corporations to involve and educate surrounding communities, especially as effective invasive species control extends beyond fence lines, requiring strong partnerships with local landowners, conservation organizations, and others. The report includes ten case studies from North America, Spain, and China and includes projects by CEF members Fidelity Investments, General Motors, and WM. (May 2023)
Towards a circular economy that begins and ends in nature (IUCN) Examines links and potential gaps between the circular economy and biodiversity policy approaches in the European Union. Specifically, the report focuses on policies related to the food, water and nutrients value chain, which is a key driver of land use change and biodiversity loss, and was highlighted in the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan as a sector with high resource use and potential for circularity. It explores circular economy practices, such as bio-based materials, that need to be considered carefully to ensure they do not pose a risk to biodiversity. (Dec 2022)
The United Nations recognized ten ground-breaking initiatives from around the world for their role in restoring the natural world. These “World Restoration Flagships” aim to restore more than 68 million hectares and create nearly 15 million jobs. They include efforts to restore forests, marine areas, grasslands, rivers, and mountains among the winners. (Dec 2022)
The Nature Tech Market (Nature4Climate and Capital for Climate) — Estimates that the global market for technologies designed to support nature based solutions (NbS) could triple to $6 billion by 2030, driven by businesses seeking to profitably meet their nature and climate goals. The report examines the nature tech market and divides it into four categories: Deployment, such as interventions that increase yields while minimizing environmental impact; Measurement, Reporting, and Verification; transparency and traceability; and connection, such as setting up marketplaces and organizations for technical assistance. (Dec 2022)
Nature in the balance: What companies can do to restore natural capital (McKinsey Sustainability) — This new report finds that while a range of economic sectors contribute to the depletion of natural capital, specific actions taken by companies using current technologies, and supported by broader enabling actions of the whole of society, could not only reverse the trend but also generate positive return on investment (ROI) in a substantial number of cases. The research assesses 47 potential corporate actions that address leading causes of depletion, such as biodiversity loss and deforestation. Twelve of these, such as regenerative agriculture and reducing food waste, could have a net-positive ROI, and could deliver about 45 percent of the total identified mitigation potential, amounting to an annual benefit of about $700 billion, net of costs. Twenty levers are estimated to be ROI negative in 2022 dollars. If fully implemented, they could deliver about 55 percent of the identified mitigation potential at an annual cost, net of savings, of about $1.5 trillion. (Dec 2022)
Nature Benchmark (World Benchmarking Alliance) — Reviewed the policies and practices of 389 companies spanning eight sectors with a particularly significant impact on nature. Only 5% of companies analyzed have carried out a science-based assessment to show what impacts their operations have on nature and biodiversity. 97% of those companies have yet to commit to a nature-positive trajectory by 2030. In addition, only 2% have a policy in place to prevent violent outcomes resulting from the persecution of environmental and human rights-defenders. (Dec 2022)
Amplify: The Role of the Enterprise in a Nature Positive World, Part II
— This issue, the second in a two-part series on nature and private enterprise, explores the practice of place-based actions to help protect and restore nature.
The issue includes five articles that explore how business can act for nature and case studies from around the world. It engages with topics such as aligning stakeholder expectations with nature action; community engagement; science-informed nature action; brownfield remediation; and coastal wetlands restoration. (Jan 2023)
Amplify: The Role of the Enterprise in a Nature Positive World, Part I — This issue of Amplify explores the nature positive frame, defining what is meant by nature positive and examining the role of the private sector in creating a nature positive world. The five included articles explore the business case for action on nature, the value of partnerships to deliver progress on nature positive, and the urgency for immediate action. (Dec 2022)
State of Finance for Nature (UNEP and Economics of Land Degradation Initiative) — To halt biodiversity loss, limit climate change to below 1.5°C, and achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030, current finance flows to nature based solutions (NbS) must more than double from the current $154 billion to $384 billion by 2025 and triple to $484 billion by 2030, according to this new report. The private sector currently only makes up 17% of nature finance—but will need to grow this significantly, investing in sustainable supply chains, reducing activities with negative impacts on climate and biodiversity, and offsetting unavoidable impacts through high integrity nature markets. Governments’ contributions are unlikely to grow due to other fiscal challenges and are currently far outweighed by the $500 billion to $1 trillion spent each year on potentially damaging subsidies to fisheries, agriculture, and fossil fuels, which will need to be repurposed toward nature positive solutions. (Dec 2022)
Into The Wild: Why nature may be the next frontier for capital markets (AFME and EY)
— Explores how finance can be channeled to help address nature loss, examining both the currently available natural capital finance products and the challenges in mainstreaming and scaling nature finance products.
The report also includes case studies of practices by AFME members and concludes with five recommendations for policy developments that can help direct capital towards solutions that conserve and restore nature. (Dec 2022)
Actions After Impacts (UN Climate Change High-Level Champions) — Based on a series of dialogues with non-state actors, this discussion paper reveals the wide range of actions non-state actors are taking to address all forms of climate losses and damages, from loss of biodiversity to impacts on people’s mental and physical health. It provides an in-depth look at these actions while also exploring how to accelerate these actions — such as through increased public, private, and foundation funding; policy change; access to data; and capacity building. (Nov 2022)
Global Peatlands Assessment: The State of the World’s Peatlands (UN Environment Programme) — Provides a comprehensive global assessment of the world’s peatlands, which while only making up 3-4% of the world’s lands, contain up to a third of the world’s carbon (twice as much as the world’s forests). The report also tracks historic loss of peatlands and annual destruction, currently 500,000 hectares per year. Continued destruction would consume 41% of the global emission budget to keep warming to 1.5°C. But restoring degraded peatlands would contribute 10% of total emission reductions. The assessment focuses particularly on how decision makers can better manage, conserve, and restore peatlands as a nature-based solution to halt biodiversity loss, support climate change adaptation and mitigation, and support local communities. (Nov 2022)
Understanding Corporate Climate and Nature Strategies and the Role of Tropical Forest Protection (Emergent) — Provides an analysis of emerging best practices for corporate climate and nature strategies, supported by real-world examples. The report walks through the definitions of various climate and nature claims and commitments, such as net zero, carbon neutral, deforestation free, and nature positive. The report also explores the use of carbon credits and forest conservation efforts, such as REDD+, to support commitments. (Nov 2022)
Building Sustainable Supply Chains (WHC (Wildlife Habitat Council)) — This new white paper by WHC explores how corporations at every tier of the supply chain are recognizing they must address biodiversity and climate risks. With impacts varied, no one approach to integrating biodiversity will work for all companies across the supply chain, the report finds, but locally appropriate, nature-positive actions that align with larger sustainability goals can help corporations address these risks. The report includes nine case studies, including CEF member WM. (Nov 2022)
Industry Influence on Biodiversity Policy (InfluenceMap) — Reveals that 12 industry associations representing five key sectors and some of the largest companies globally are lobbying to delay, dilute and rollback critically needed policy aimed at preventing and reversing biodiversity loss in the EU and U.S. This pilot study shows that these industry associations were opposed to almost all major biodiversity-relevant policies and regulations, with 89% of policy engagement examined aimed at blocking progress on addressing biodiversity loss (5% was supportive, and the remaining 6% mixed or neutral). The study also found that several associations have made misleading statements about the science of biodiversity loss. (Oct 2022)
Global hotspots for soil nature conservation (Nature) — Researchers conducted a global field survey exploring soil biodiversity and functions in 615 topsoil samples from all continents. The research found that temperate ecosystems had the highest species richness, temperate and arid regions the most unique communities of soil organisms, and colder high-latitudinal ecosystems were hotspots of ecosystem services. This diversity reveals the complexity of protecting multiple ecological dimensions of soil. More than 70% of these hotspots are not adequately covered by protected areas (with 50% under no form of conservation) and are vulnerable to global change. (Oct 2022)
Exponential Roadmap for Natural Climate Solutions (Conservation International and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research) — Provides a blueprint for maximizing nature’s role in tackling global warming. To avoid catastrophic climate change, the land sector, including agriculture and forestry, must reach net zero emissions by 2030. Specifically, the report argues that: more land must be protected, such as by creating more parks and protected areas; that lands must be better managed, including reducing agricultural expansion especially driven by meat production; and that degraded ecosystems need to be restored, and if they are, could remove 400 gigatons of CO2 by 2100. (Oct 2022)
The Climate Benefits of Degraded Lands Reclamation and Restoration (National Wildlife Federation) — Discusses the climate, community, and economic benefits of reclaiming and restoring the more than 4 million degraded sites in the U.S., including abandoned mine lands, orphaned oil and gas wells, brownfields, and Superfund sites. According to the report, for every dollar invested in land restoration, from $7 to $30 can be returned in the form of improved food production, water quality, and carbon sequestration. (Sept 2022)
Nature-Positive Business Solutions: Perspectives in the Food and Beverage Section in North America (World Economic Center, UNEP North America, Miridae Natural Capital) — Explores the opportunities and constraints that food and beverage companies face in adopting nature-positive operational and value chain solutions in the U.S. and Canada, based on interviews with over 20 executives. The report concludes that companies must share risks and costs across the value chain, create better incentives for farmers to adopt nature-positive practices, and create standard definitions and metrics for soil health and regenerative agriculture. (Jan 2022)
List of Nature-Positive Business Solutions, Needs & Opportunities, 2021-2019 (PDF)
The State of the Planet & its Ecosystems
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State of the World’s Migratory Species (United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)) — 44% of the 1,189 migratory species monitored by the UN are in decline, with 20% threatened with extinction, according to this first-of-its kind landmark report summarizing the current status of these species and the key pressures they face. Being migratory, these species often face a diverse range of threats caused by human activity including: habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation; overexploitation; climate change; and pollution, including pesticides, plastics, underwater noise, and light pollution. The constraint of movement, driven by obstacles to migration (e.g. roads and fences) is a “formidable barrier to migratory populations.” The report provides recommendations for priority actions, under five areas: 1) protect, connect and restore habitats; 2) tackle overexploitation; 3) reduce pollution; 4) address climate change; and 5) take action to protect all migratory species (including those not yet listed). (Feb 2024)
Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries (Science Advances) — For the first time, scientists analyzed the planetary boundaries to provide a “scientific health check for the whole planet,” providing quantification for all nine boundaries. Of the nine, six have been crossed and pressure on all of them is increasing, meaning “we are putting the stability of the Earth system at risk, and the buffering capacity of the Earth system to buffer stress and shocks,” according to paper co-author Johan Rockström. The six include biosphere integrity; climate change; novel entities; land system change; freshwater change; and biogeochemical flows. (Sept 2023)
The ozone layer is on track to recover within four decades, with the global phaseout of ozone-depleting chemicals already benefitting efforts to mitigate climate change, according to a UN-backed panel of experts. The ozone layer is expected to recover to 1980 levels, before the appearance of the ozone hole, by around 2066 over the Antarctic, by 2045 for the Arctic, and by 2040 for the rest of the world. However, potential geoengineering schemes, increased rocket launches, and more intense wildfires could affect ozone and delay this recovery. The phase down of HFCs, which was included in a 2016 amendment, is estimated to also have avoided 0.3-0.5 °C of warming by 2100. (Jan 2023)
Global glacier change in the 21st century: Every increase in temperature matters (Science) —Glaciers, excluding the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, are projected to lose between 26 and 41% of total mass by 2100, relative to 2015, according to a new study in Science. This will lead to between 90 and 154 millimeters (3.5-6 inches) of sea level rise and between 49 and 83% of the world’s more than 215,000 glaciers disappearing. Current climate pledges leading to a temperature increase of 2.7°C would bring widespread deglaciation in the middle latitude regions and 115 mm (4.5 inches) of sea level rise. (Jan 2023)
The past 8 years are on track to be the world’s warmest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s provisional State of the Global Climate in 2022 report. Sea level has risen 10 mm since January 2020 to a new record high this year. The past 2.5 years account for 10 percent of the overall rise in sea level since satellite measurements started nearly 30 years ago. Potentially record-shattering melt occurred in the European Alps, and for the first time it rained in Greenland in September, rather than snowed. Ocean heat was also at record levels in 2021 (last year assessed). (Nov 2022)
Global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and cement have increased by 1.0% in 2022, hitting a record high of 36.6 gigatonnes, according to the Global Carbon Project’s 2022 Global Carbon Budget report. The increase was strongly driven by oil use as global travel continues to recover post-pandemic. Total CO2 emissions, including land use, increased 0.8% to 40.5 gigatonnes in 2022. Regionally, the U.S. saw a small increase in emissions, the EU remained stable, China saw a small decline, and India and the rest of the world saw a larger increase. Global CO2 concentrations set a new record of 417.2 parts per million (ppm), up 2.5ppm from 2021 levels. The effects of climate change have reduced the CO2 uptake of the ocean sink by around 4% and the land sink by around 17%. (Nov 2022)
“Forever chemicals” were found in 83% of U.S. waterways, according to a new report by Waterkeeper Alliance. Local Waterkeeper groups tested 114 waterways across 34 states and the District of Columbia and 94 were found to contain at least one type of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) present. Many waterways revealed the presence of up to 35 different PFAS. The level of contamination of some waterways was thousands to hundreds of thousands times higher than drinking water standards. (Oct 2022)
By the end of this century, permafrost in the rapidly warming Arctic will likely emit as much carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere as a large industrial nation, and potentially more than the U.S. has emitted since the start of the industrial revolution, according to a new study in the Annual Review of Environment and Resources. Under a low warming scenario (<2°C), permafrost could release 55 billion metric tons (MTs) by 2100. Under a BAU scenario, this could increase to 232 billion MTs. This research goes beyond previous forecasts, incorporating new factors in hydrological and biogeochemical dynamics and permafrost zone tipping points. As the Arctic is not regulated by any one state, the report argues that international emission reduction efforts must account for this “country of permafrost” in climate targets and actions moving forward.(Oct 2022)
Wildlife populations have declined 69% since 1970, according to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2022, which monitors mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish. In Africa, the average decline is 66% and in Latin America and the Caribbean, it is 94%. Freshwater species have declined 83% on average. Drivers of this decline in biodiversity includes habitat loss, species overexploitation, invasive species, pollution, climate change, and disease. (Oct 2022)
A new study in Science reassessed climate tipping points (CTPs) and found that five may have already been passed at the current 1.1°C of warming, including the collapse of the Greenland ice sheet; the collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet; tropical coral reef die-off; and the abrupt thawing of northern permafrost. At 1.5-2.0°C, these become more likely, and additional CTPs also become possible, including disruptions to northern forests, the loss of almost all mountain glaciers, and disruptions in Atlantic Ocean currents. Three more CTPs become possible (out of a total of 16 global and regional CTPs) at the 2.6°C of warming expected under current policies. (Sept 2022)
Ice loss from the Greenland ice sheet could mean more than 10.5 inches of sea level rise by 2100 regardless of greenhouse gas emissions reductions taken, according to a study in Nature Climate Change. This is greater than the IPCC projection of 2-5 inches by 2100 and reflects a 3.3% ice volume loss, or 110 trillion metric tons. This finding is based on observations from 2000-2019 rather than climate modeling. If observations from the high-melt year of 2012 are applied, sea level rise would be 2.5 feet. These projections do not take into account melt from Antarctica or other glaciers. (Sept 2022)
A new article in the journal Communications Earth and Environment found that the Arctic has been warming nearly four times faster than the global average since 1979. This is faster than scientists had previously estimated, one that has been systematically underestimated by climate models. Some sea areas, such as near the Russian archipelago Novaya Zemlya, are warming seven times faster. This warming differential could lead to more extreme weather events and to positive feedback loops as the melting of arctic sea ice and thawing of permafrost accelerate and worsen climate change. (Aug 2022)
Atmospheric CO2, a key driver of global temperature rise, hit the highest average monthly concentration in recorded history in May 2022, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The May average was 421 parts per million (ppm), more than 50% higher than the pre-industrial average of 280 ppm. The current trajectory of CO2 increase, at about 2ppm per year, is more than 15,000 times the estimated annual increase as Earth emerged from the last ice age. (June 2022)
State of the Global Climate 2021 (World Meteorological Organization (WMO)) — Complements the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment, providing information on how indicators outlined in the IPCC reports such as temperatures, ocean heat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, sea ice glaciers, and extreme weather played out during recent years. Top takeaways from this year's edition include (May 2022):
- 2015 to 2021 are the seven warmest years on record.
- The global mean temperature in 2021 was around 1.11°C above the 1850–1900 pre-industrial average, less warm than some recent years due to a La Niña event.
- Global GHG concentrations reached a new global high of 413.2 ppm in 2020. Data from specific locations indicate that the increase continued in 2021 and early 2022.
- Global mean sea level increased at an average of 4.5 mm per year from 2013 to 2021, more than double the rate from 1993 to 2002.
- Extreme heat and wildfires resulted in record ice mass loss among glaciers in Canada and the Pacific Northwest.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Annual-to-Decadal Climate Update released new climate projections, based on rigorous computer modeling, for the five-year period between 2022 and 2026. The data suggests a 50% chance that, during that timeframe, a single-year global average surface temperature will exceed 1.5°C above the preindustrial average for the first time. It also indicates a 93% likelihood that one of those years will be the warmest on record. While the research does not suggest that the temperature rise will be long-term, it does increase the odds “that we are edging ever closer to a situation where 1.5°C could be exceeded for an extended period." (May 2022)
The U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports that key greenhouse gas concentrations are at record highs and increasing at record rates. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is likely to average 420 parts per million (ppm) in April—which scientists believe has not happened for over four million years—and continues rising at the fastest sustained rate since monitoring began in 1959. Methane is also at a record-high atmospheric concentration, and the 2021 increase was the largest since monitoring began in 1983. (April 2022)
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (United Nations IPCC) — This major new scientific report warns that some climate change impacts are already “irreversible” and the world will see “additional severe risks” if global warming even temporarily exceeds 1.5°C. It concludes that as many as 3.6 billion people live in areas “highly vulnerable to climate change” and that most adaptation measures thus far have been fragmented, responsive to short-term risks, and unevenly distributed across regions. (March 2022)
“Three-quarters of the Amazon rainforest may be speeding toward a ‘tipping point’ that, if passed, could leave the world’s critical tropical biome a relatively dry savanna within a few decades,” according to Bloomberg. (March 2022)
A new metric integrating temperature and humidity reveals that if global emissions were to go unchecked and result in 4.8°C of surface warming by 2100, “debilitating” heat extremes could become 14 to 30 times more frequent, and extreme precipitation could increase by 60%, according to a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (Feb 2022)
Humanity has breached the “planetary boundary,” or safe operating limit, for releasing “novel entities” (chemicals and artificial substances) into the environment, according to a new paper in Science and Technology. The breach could disrupt Earth’s ability to function and support life. (Jan 2022)
New data on global emissions and climate trends (Jan 2022):
- 20 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters occurred in the contiguous U.S. in 2021, killing 688 people, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was the second-highest number of such disasters in a single year in the region—after 22 events in 2020. MORE » MORE 2 »
- US greenhouse gas emissions increased by 6.2% in 2021 (2020 baseline) but remained 5% lower than 2019 levels, according to Rhodium Group. Natural gas generation fell 3%, while renewables increased 4% and comprised a record 20% of US electricity generation. MORE » MORE 2 »
- The last seven years have been the seven hottest on record, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Atmospheric methane rose by a record amount. MORE » MORE 2 »
- 2021 was the sixth-warmest year on record, according to Berkeley Earth, NASA, and NOAA. Berkeley Earth also reported that 2021 was 1.2°C warmer than pre-industrial levels. MORE »
- In 2021, ocean temperatures were the hottest ever recorded, according to a study in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences. Ocean heat content increased eightfold from 1985-2021 (compared with 1958-1985). MORE »
List of
The State of the Planet & its Ecosystems, 2021-2019 (PDF)
Collaboration
Natural Solutions and Biodiversity Collaboration
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Nature Positive Initiative — 27 nature conservation organizations, institutes, and business and finance coalitions, including the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), have launched an initiative to promote the use of the term ‘nature positive’ (i.e. halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030) and to support broad, long-term efforts to deliver nature positive outcomes. The initiative’s overall goal is to drive alignment and synergies across a multitude of actors who will advocate, support and implement actions towards a nature-positive outcome of halting and reversing nature loss by 2030. It will work to preserve the integrity of nature positive as a measurable 2030 goal for businesses, financial institutions, governments, and other stakeholders. (Sept 2023)
Representatives of 185 countries agreed to launch the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), a new fund for biodiversity to attract funding from governments, philanthropy, and the private sector. GBFF is designed to mobilize and accelerate investment in the conservation and sustainability of wild species and ecosystems. So far, Canada has committed CAD$200 million ($147 million) and the UK £10 million ($13 million). However, the fund will not launch in December unless it reaches a minimum of $200 million, as required by the World Bank as a trustee, according to Reuters. (Aug 2023)
Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA) (World Economic Forum) — This new initiative, supported by more than 45 major philanthropic, public, and private sector partners, will leverage philanthropic capital to help generate the $3 trillion needed each year to reach net zero emissions and reverse nature loss. Over the next 12 months, supported by CEF member McKinsey Sustainability as a knowledge partner, GAEA will work with founding members to build momentum around three objectives: convening leaders to identify and target climate and nature solutions where they are best positioned to play a catalytic role; pilot and refine funding models; and scale up and replicate successful approaches to new sectors, regions, and actors. (Jan 2023)
Nature Action 100 — A group of institutional investors announced a new global engagement initiative to tackle nature and biodiversity loss. The initiative, which will formally launch in 2023, aims to mobilize investors to drive urgent action on the nature-related risks and dependencies in the companies they own. Investors will focus on companies in key sectors that are deemed to be systemically important to the goal of reversing nature and biodiversity loss by 2030. The initiative will support engagement between investor teams and company executives, identify corporate actions to protect and restore nature, and support investor and corporate advocacy efforts. (Dec 2022)
The Rainforest Alliance, CDP, Clarmondial, Conservation International, and USAID announced the Business Case for Collective Landscape Action initiative (“Business Case”), a new public-private partnership to reduce commodity-driven deforestation, contribute to global climate and biodiversity goals, and drive new investment in inclusive development in tropical regions. Business Case will convene the private sector, governments, and local producers and organizations to demonstrate a globally replicable approach to responsible investment, unlock international finance for sustainable production, and stabilize critical deforestation frontiers. The group anticipates producing the following results by 2026 (May 2022):
- 12.1 million tons of CO2 emissions reduced (forecasted reductions through 2030)
- 1.8 million hectares under improved natural resource management
- More than 12,000 people experiencing economic co-benefits and improved livelihoods
- $30 million mobilized
NCS Investment Accelerator — Bank of America, Bayer, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Company and Unilever launched a campaign to increase private sector investment in natural climate solutions (NCS) to slash at least 1 Gigaton of CO2 equivalent per year by 2025. The initiative is supported by the Natural Climate Solutions Alliance convened jointly by the World Economic Forum and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. (Nov 2021)
FINANCE FOR BIODIVERSITY PLEDGE’S NEW SIGNATORIES — 20 financial institutions signed the
Finance for Biodiversity Pledge
(launched in 2020), which entails
setting and disclosing science-based biodiversity targets and
annually reporting on progress. The Pledge now has
75 total signatories representing nearly $14 trillion in assets
across 17 countries. (Oct 2021)
MORE »
The Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) appointed 30 senior executives
from financial institutions, corporations, and service providers
to the
TNFD Taskforce. Members will
form 5 Working Groups to drive the development of a
beta disclosure framework to be launched in early 2022. TNFD Taskforce members include executives from CEF members
Bank of America
and BlackRock.
TNFD also launched the
TNFD Forum, a consultative group with over 100 institutions to support the Taskforce that includes CEF Member
Wells Fargo Asset Management. (Oct 2021)
MORE »
The Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures
launched as a new global initiative to deliver a framework by 2023 for companies to report and act on evolving nature-related risks.
The Taskforce is co-chaired by David Craig, CEO of Refinitiv and Group Leader of Data & Analytics Division at London Stock Exchange Group, and Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
View the proposed technical scope here. (June 2021)
MORE »
Transforming the Fashion Sector to Drive Positive Outcomes for Biodiversity, Climate, and Oceans — New initiative co-led by The Fashion Pact and Conservation International to improve sustainability in the fashion industry by developing and sharing best practices. The project will deliver a roadmap for The Fashion Pact’s signatory companies—including Adidas, Gap, H&M, and Nike—focusing on cleaning up supply chains, improving agricultural practices, decreasing deforestation, and supporting livelihoods. (March 2021)
A global coalition of businesses and NGOs working to amplify a powerful business voice calling for governments to reverse nature loss. Companies engaged include Unilever, Danone, Mahindra, Walmart, and Citi. NGOs include World Economic Forum, WBCSD, We Mean Business, International Chamber of Commerce. Focusing on:
- Convening a united business voice to influence key political decisions on nature in 2020 and beyond. The coalition is calling for a global framework that will reverse nature loss through policies that protect and restore nature and incentivize its sustainable use.
- Demonstrating business ambition and action to protect and enhance nature by aggregating, amplifying and helping scale existing business commitment platforms.
- Showcasing business solutions that are already translating commitments into action and meaningful impact, and driving business decisions.
- Communicating the business case for reversing nature loss in order to galvanize a change in our global economy to incorporate nature protection.
1t.org is a World Economic Forum initiative, designed to support the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030, led by UNEP and FAO. 1t.org offers a "platform for leading governments, businesses, civil society and ecopreneurs committed to serving the global trillion trees community." Read FAQs here.
Launched in 2019 by a group of 19 companies — including Google, Nestlé, and Unilever — this WBCSD-led initiative is aimed at accelerating action on biodiversity within supply chains and product portfolios. Three main areas of focus:
- Scaling up regenerative agriculture practices to protect soil health
- Developing product portfolios to boost cultivated biodiversity and increase the resilience of the food and agriculture models
- Eliminating deforestation.
Launched in 2019, a set of global commitments for fashion companies to address climate change, biodiversity, and the ocean. Signatory companies, which include Kering and Nike, commit to implement Science-Based Targets on climate and drive corporate actions to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, support the development of Science-Based Targets on biodiversity and implement these targets in their sector, and significantly reduce the negative impacts that their sector has on the ocean environment.