Georgina Chandler, Fiona Dobson, and Kim Dunn at COP15, (c) Kim Dunn, RSPB.
Today’s blog is written by Kim Dunn, Senior Policy Officer, who is live in Montreal exploring the importance of business voices at CBD COP15.
COP15 led to a landmark agreement for Nature, and while we celebrate the outcome of such a momentous occasion, the hard work has only just started. Implementing the Global Biodiversity Framework will require a step up in engagement and implementation of practices that work for nature, across all of society.
The global stage is set – at the start of COP15, we outlined where key elements of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework could impact businesses. Now we explore what was agreed and where businesses can be involved.
What came out of COP15?
MISSION: The guiding star of the framework is a mission to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity by 2030. This is a critical commitment to take urgent action to halt extinctions, recover populations, and protect and restore ecosystems by the end of the decade. This goes above and beyond the ambition of the previous Aichi Targets and recognises the urgent need to not just stop things getting worse but to focus on recovery.
There was a noticeably bigger business and finance presence at COP15 as opposed to previous biodiversity COPs, which shows just how much businesses are recognising the importance of nature. There were many new initiatives, reports and coalitions announced, all intending to increase the understanding of nature and business interactions. The importance of embedding nature alongside climate in all decision-making processes has never been clearer.
Target 10:
Target 10 centred around sustainable land-use, which is crucial in the UK, as well as globally.
The final text is:
‘Ensure that areas under agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry are managed sustainably, in particular through the sustainable use of biodiversity, including through a substantial increase of the application of biodiversity friendly practices, such as sustainable intensification, agroecological and other innovative approaches contributing to the resilience and long-term efficiency and productivity of these production systems and to food security, conserving and restoring biodiversity and maintaining nature’s contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services.’
To find out more about how we are engaging with the agriculture sector in the UK, what we think Nature Positive farming should entail, and how we need to manage land use, take a look at these reports:
- Nature Positive Farming
- A World Richer in Nature
- Decade of Business Action
Target 15:
Target 15 was a critical negotiating point that impacted the private sector. The final text, displayed below, outlines the principles for countries to follow.
‘Take legal, administrative or policy measures to encourage and enable business, and in particular to ensure that large and transnational companies and financial institutions:
(a) Regularly monitor, assess, and transparently disclose their risks, dependencies and impacts on biodiversity, including with requirements for all large as well as transnational companies and financial institutions along their operations, supply and value chains and portfolios;
(b) Provide information needed to consumers to promote sustainable consumption patterns;
(c) Report on compliance with access and benefit-sharing regulations and measures, as applicable; in order to progressively reduce negative impacts on biodiversity, increase positive impacts, reduce biodiversity-related risks to business and financial institutions, and promote actions to ensure sustainable patterns of production.’
The agreement means that governments now have to take these points into their national strategy, and will drive the legislation and regulation of businesses within their jurisdiction.
So what’s next?
As we move from the framework into the implementation, it is clear that we still have a long way to go.
We need more finance, more action, and more involvement for nature. In the coming months, the UK government will be translating the Global Biodiversity Framework into their National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), and we need them to set ambitious targets that meet, and exceed, the requirements of the framework. We also need more businesses to recognise the implications of their businesses on nature – and immediately act on it.
The COP15 process was exhausting, infuriating and disheartening at times – while being inspiring, engaging and heartening. Seeing so many people come together to protect our world was truly amazing, we just need to make sure that the momentum doesn’t stop there. We need action that genuinely halts and reverses the loss of nature, for the sake of all people and planet.
I’ve been truly honoured to be part of the team at Montreal, alongside fantastic RSPB colleagues – Fiona and Georgina, and BirdLife partners from around the world. We have a long way to go, but with such amazing people working on it, I have every confidence we’ll get there.
Will you be part of the journey to a Nature Positive world?
(c) Kim Dunn, RSPB
Further Reading:
Read more of the outcomes here: https://community.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/b/nature-s-advocates/posts/the-finish-line-of-cop15-a-new-global-biodiversity-framework-is-adopted-
And sign up to the Nature Positive pledge here: https://www.business-biodiversity.co.uk/nature-positive-business-pledge/