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TOP STORIES
Australia introduces nature repair market legislation to parliament
The Australian government on Wednesday introduced its world-first nature repair market legislation into parliament, though concerns remain over what some consider fundamental gaps in the legislation.
TNFD releases long-awaited final draft on nature-related financial disclosure rules
The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) on Tuesday released its long-awaited last draft framework for managing and reporting risks and opportunities related to nature, ahead of the final rules slated for publication in September.
MARKET
UK govt body readies metric ahead of biodiversity net gain scheme launch
The body responsible for nature preservation in England and Wales has posted a significant update to its biodiversity metric, which it expects will be the final version used when biodiversity net gain becomes mandatory in November, it said in a consultation response.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Biodiversity becoming more crucial to investor policies, survey finds
Biodiversity is becoming an issue of increasing importance to investors, a global survey released this week has found, with nearly half stating that addressing the issue was either at the centre of, or a significant factor in, their respective investment policies.
Scottish Widows steps up fight against biodiversity loss, climate change with £1.4 bln in new funds
Pension fund Scottish Widows this week rolled out four new funds totalling £1.4 billion that will invest in companies seeking to help resolve nature and climate change issues.
Campaigners urge investors to push reform in pesticide industry to help stave off biodiversity crisis
Financial institutions should push to transform key pesticide companies and their significant contributions to global biodiversity loss, financial market campaigners ShareAction have urged.
POLICY
World governments deliver water action agenda in response to global crisis
The UN Water Conference in New York wrapped up late Friday with billions of dollars pledged by governments and companies and a Water Action Agenda counting over 700 global commitments on water, including nearly 300 related to biodiversity.
Australia next in line to adopt OECM framework to meet biodiversity targets
The Australian government has launched a process to recognise so-called other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) in a bid to increase available options to meet its biodiversity targets, a move considered by many nations worldwide as they ponder how to comply with the 30×30 target in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
SCIENCE & TECH
Around 80% of key biodiversity sites have human infrastructure with share set to rise, study finds
The vast majority of the world’s key biodiversity sites already contain human-made infrastructure, with the share of these areas likely to be impacted by further development only expected to increase, a global assessment by scientific researchers has found.
MARKET
Africa roll-out – Blue Carbon, a Dubai-based project developer founded by a member of the royal family, this week announced it has agreed a plan with Liberia to develop and implement forest carbon projects under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The UAE firm will develop environmental assets and nature-based solutions activities as well as register NBS projects, while enabling operational frameworks for the blue and green economy. It’s the third such deal Blue Carbon signs in Africa in a short period of time, following similar deals with Tanzania and Zambia. (Carbon Pulse)
Mangroves first – The Chinese island province of Hainan has approved a first methodology under its planned blue carbon-focused offset scheme. Provincial environmental regulators have green-lighted a standard for mangrove afforestation and reforestation projects, under which local developers can generate carbon credits for voluntary buyers. Hainan aims to add other marine-related project types to the scheme over time. (Carbon Pulse)
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Lending a hand – The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed a loan agreement with India to provide an ODA loan of JPY9.3 bln ($70 mln) for the Project for Forest and Biodiversity Conservation for Climate Change Response in West Bengal. The objective of the project is to mitigate and adapt to climate change and conserve and restore ecosystems by adopting ecosystem-based climate change measures, biodiversity conservation, livelihood improvement activities, and institutional strengthening, thereby contributing to the sustainable socioeconomic development in West Bengal. (The Hindu Businessline)
Coral briefs – The Global Fund for Coral Reefs’ executive board has approved two more blended finance programmes, it has announced. One covers a 1,600 sq.km area in Indonesia, focusing on Berau in East Kalimantan, Savu Sea in East Nusa Tengarra, and the Natuna Sea west of Borneo. The second, to be led by UNDP, is a resilient reef ecosystem programme in the Maldives. Meanwhile, along with UNEP and other partners, it has launched a new monitoring and evaluating framework to track progress towards ambitious wins for coral reef biodiversity and community resilience to climate change.
In vogue – Fashion retail group Inditex has signed a €15 mln agreement with Conservation International to expand and scale the work of the Regenerative Fund for Nature, a 2021 initiative by CI and Kering aiming to transform 1 mln hectares of crop and rangelands into regenerative agricultural systems by 2026.
Race to the Finnish line – Finland’s Metsa Group has adopted regenerative forestry principles, setting itself a goal of improving the state of nature and comprehensively managing ecosystem services, it announced this week. That includes strengthening biodiversity, which it said will require nature protection as well new mainstream management methods in commercial forests. Metsa Group’s parent company, Metsaliitto Cooperative, and its members own around half of the nation’s forests. The group’s ambition is that the measures it will implement must have measurable and verifiable impacts by 2030 at the latest.
Checks in the mail – The Swedish Postcode Foundation has launched a SEK20 mln ($1.9 mln) initiative to support projects that strive towards coastal ecosystems rich in biodiversity and thriving coastal communities resilient to the impacts of climate change. The initiative will support projects over an 18-24 months period with SEK2-7 mln each that reduce human threats to coastal ecosystems while protecting and restoring them.
POLICY
Hesitation – The debate over collecting minerals from the bottom of the deep sea in international waters has gained new urgency ahead of a pending rulemaking deadline. As all manner of stakeholders gather in Kingston, Jamaica, to try to reach a consensus over regulation, a fierce debate is growing between supporters who say we need the rules urgently as demand for the minerals at the bottom of the deep sea grows, while opponents argue the rush to open the seafloor in international waters could be a damaging decision that’s impossible to reverse. (CNBC)
More than a drop in the ocean – The EU Commission has announced the Growth Blue I fund has been signed in Portugal – the first fund signed under the new InvestEU Blue Economy instrument focusing on southern Europe. Growth Blue will be funded with €28 mln from both national public resources through Fundo Azul, and European Investment Fund (EIF) resources supported by InvestEU Blue Economy instrument. It will invest in SMEs and small Mid Caps, primarily from Portugal and Spain, aiming to support the growth and internationalisation of mature blue economy companies with focus on sustainability and climate action and the blue economy sectors.
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