Today is International Day for Biological Diversity.
8 billion humans on Earth, the new record reached at the end of 2022, will put the planet’s resources under increasing pressure. Global population growth – fourfold in less than one century – is a major challenge for biodiversity.
The good news is that behind one COP lies another. At the end of 2022, the achievements of the COP 15 on Biodiversity held in Montréal took many by surprise, unlike the COP 27 on Climate Change held earlier in Charm el-Cheikh. Thanks to the success of the COP15, which set tangible and ambitious goals after 10 disappointing years, 2023 is the year of biodiversity. On the government side, all countries will be able to build or align their biodiversity plans with the Kunming-Montréal agreement.
For corporates and investors, the version 1.0 of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) roadmap should be unveiled at the end of 2023. At Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, we consider this will establish a common language around biodiversity for the private sector, just as the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) did for climate change back in 2017. For investors, we believe this will involve innovating and building a common climate change & biodiversity roadmap drawing from the TCFD and TNFD frameworks, both of which are compatible.
One particular announcement could have a major impact in improving the effectiveness of these summits: running concomitant Climate Change and Biodiversity COPs. All stakeholders agree that environmental AND social challenges are intertwined, both in terms of problems and solutions. Better coordination would enable the definitive launch of the Biodiversity COPs, while supporting Climate Change COPs. This surprise (and positive) announcement may be made at the next COP 28 in Dubai from Thursday 30 November to Tuesday 12 December 2023.
To quote Henri Bergson, philosopher: “The future is not about what will happen to us, but what we shall make of it”.
