COP15 Biodiversity Updates, Nature Action 100 Launched, Montreal New UN Sustainable Cities Site!

COP15 BIODIVERSITY UPDATES

We wanted to bring you reams of good news re: COP15 Biodiversity, which ends today in Montreal. But, we can’t. Apparently, it’s been just as disappointing as COP27 on Climate Change held earlier this year in Egypt. The marquee goal of this 15th meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity is a deal setting aside 30 per cent of the globe’s land and water. However, estimates of how much money is involved in achieving that goal range fromUS$200 billion to US$700 billion per year. 

So far, the wealthier nations of the global north have yet to commit to how much they’re willing to actually ante up annually. That’s disappointing because any deal preserving biodiversity will fail if it’s not adequately funded. We emphasize positive climate change action here on The Climate Daily, unless it’s important enough to point out where bad news can be motivational. This is one of those times. And this is why this disappointing news matters to us. 

Steve Widdicombe, director of science at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, said in an interview with The Guardian, “Not every piece of sea is the same as every other piece of sea. We can choose 30% of the open ocean, away from every consumer – that’s absolutely fine, accessible, easy stuff to do. But it doesn’t help any coral. It doesn’t help any mangroves. It doesn’t help seagrass.” Conservationist Sol Kaho’ohalahala, a seventh generation Hawaiian, agreed. “In a native Hawaiian perspective it is almost saying as though only 30% of our ancestors are important and that the other 70%, we might just have to put them aside.”

DEEPER DIVE: The Guardian, CBD

INVESTORS LAUNCH NATURE ACTION 100

According to Bloomberg Green, A group of investors with a combined $3 trillion in funds has launched a new campaign to pressure the companies they own to do more to fight the decline in biodiversity. It’s called Nature Action 100, and it’s funded by AXA Investment Managers, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, BNP Paribas Paribah Asset Management and eight other asset managers. 

Nature Action 100 aims to drive greater corporate ambition and action on tackling nature loss and biodiversity decline, and will complement the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity’s Global Biodiversity Framework by identifying the private sector actions that need to be undertaken to protect and restore nature and seek to catalyze these actions via investor-company engagements. That’s a mouthful!! A formal launch of the Nature Action 100 initiative will take place next year.

Investors will focus on companies in sectors deemed to be sysTEMically important to the goal of reversing nature and biodiversity loss by 2030. They’ll work to ensure companies are taking timely and necessary actions to protect and restore nature and ecosystems.  Additionally, Nature Action 100 will:

• Track the progress of focus companies against key indicators and provide annual progress updates and

• Support investor and corporate advocacy efforts with relevant policymakers on nature-focused policies.

Why does what big money players do matter to us, here in the trenches? According to the World Economic Forum, half of global GDP, or about $44 trillion of economic value, depends on the natural world in some way. Katie Leach, head of biodiversity at ShareAction, said: “The launch of Nature Action 100 is testament to growing awareness among the financial community that it needs to step up action to protect the natural world.

DEEPER DIVE: PRNewswire, ShareAction, COP15

MONTREAL TO BE NEW UN SUSTAINABLE CITIES OFFICE SITE

UN-Habitat, the international body’s program for human settlements and sustainable urban development, announced at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal that that city has been chosen as the site of a new United Nations office that will oversee a program focused on developing green, resilient and sustainable cities. Why does UN-Habitat matter to us? The mission of UN-Habitat is to find solutions to issues such as housing shortages, slums, public transport, water and electricity supply, poverty, crime and natural disasters caused by climate change. 

The UN-Habitat’s mission is expressed in Think, Do, Share and Partner. Think as in conducting ground-breaking research and capacity building. Do as in providing technical assistance and crisis response. Share meaning policy advocacy and communication. Partner means UN-Habitat collaborates with governments, NGOs, and more to achieve lasting results. Stéphane Paquet, the president of the organization Montreal International, says the city was chosen due to its expertise in sustainable development and artificial intelligence, as well as its universities and the number of international organizations it hosts. Neil Khor, chief of staff at UN-Habitat, said Montreal’s bilingualism was another factor in choosing it to host the office, which will employ 28 people.

DEEPER DIVE: Ground News, UN-Habitat