COP 15: What was important

European Business & Biodiversity Campaign - News

COP 15: What was important

At the World Biodiversity Conference in Montreal in December, progress was made for the protection of biodiversity – we summarize the most important results for you.

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20 December 2022: Following extensive negotiations, an agreement was made and the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) with a total of 23 targets for 2030 was adopted by the 196 countries. For the private sector, numerous outcomes of the past World Biodiversity Conference play an important role, for example on the topics of disclosure requirements, finance or biodiversity-friendly practices in agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

Key points of the GBF are outlined below:
  • 30x30 Deal:
    1. Effective conservation and management of at least 30 per cent of the world’s land, coastal areas and oceans. Currently, 17 percent of land and *8 per cent of marine areas are under protection
    2. Restoration of 30 per cent of terrestrial and marine ecosystems
    Reduce to near zero the loss of areas of high biodiversity importance and high ecological integrity
  • Halving global food waste
  • Phasing out or reforming subsidies that harm biodiversity by at least $500 billion per year, while scaling up positive incentives for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use
  • Mobilizing at least $200 billion per year from public and private sources for biodiversity-related funding
  • Raising international financial flows from developed to developing countries to at least US$ 30 billion per year
  • Requiring transnational companies and financial institutions to monitor, assess, and transparently disclose risks and impacts on biodiversity through their operations, portfolios, supply and value chains
Target 15 states that large and "transnational" companies, as well as financial institutions, should disclose their risks, impacts and dependencies on biodiversity, as well as disclose practices on access and benefit-sharing. It is important that the supply chains are also considered, not only the direct operations. Consumers should receive more details on sustainable consumption. In that context, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) also promised to research "incremental enhancements that complement the Climate-related Disclosures Standard (S2), including relating to natural ecosystems" and is probably coming up with biodiversity-related proposals in 2023 or 2024. Business stakeholders were very present at this COP, especially from "Business for Nature", Science Based Targets for Nature (SBTN), the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures or the newly founded Nature Action 100 network. There are also more initiatives and cooperations to finance biodiversity; for example, the global luxury company KERING and the cosmetics company L'OCCITANE Group, have launched a 300 million Euro Climate Fund for Nature Fund. The increasing relevance of biodiversity is also reflected in the risk assessment: In the World Economic Forum's World Risk Report 2023, biodiversity and ecosystem collapse are ranked fourth (behind climate-related risks in positions 1-3).

Read more about the COP 15 results on the UNEP website

Author: GNF
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