Another 15 financial institutions have signed up to the Finance for Biodiversity (FfB) pledge, committing to help reverse the ongoing nature loss and set specific biodiversity targets.
The new batch to sign the pledge takes the total number of institutions to have done so to 140 across 23 nations, with total assets under management of €19.7 trillion.
“Biodiversity is still gaining momentum after the adaptation of the Kunming-Montreal Agreement last year,” said Anita de Horde, executive director of the FfB Foundation, making the announcement on the International Day for Biological Diversity.
“By signing the FfB pledge, financial institutions are working on implementing targets 14 and 15 of the Global Biodiversity Framework. We can see that our organisation is driven by those financial institutions leading the race to reverse nature loss.”
The signatories commit to a number of actions to halt and reverse nature loss, including setting biodiversity targets and to start reporting their progress by 2025.
The 15 financial institutions having signed the FfB Pledge are Bpifrance, Climate Asset Management, Dasos Capital Oy, Dorr Asset Management, Folium Capital, Folksam, KPA Pension, NatureRe Capital AG, Pension fund ABP, Phoenix Group, Rivage Investment SAS, Sienna Private Credit, Swiss Life Asset Managers France, Team ABC Ventures, and VBV-Vorsorgekasse AG.
Seven of those also applied for membership in the FfB Foundation, which now stands at 67.
With the new batch, Austria and Ireland saw their first signatories, the foundation said.
“Biodiversity is not just an ESG topic. It is about how economies and societies can be fundamentally sustainable, about preserving what is valuable and essential for the planet and every species on it, and about climate too,” said Harmen van Wijnen, chairman of the executive board of Pension Fund ABP.
That statement was backed by Mike Eakins, chief investment officer of Phoenix Group.
“We recognise that the restoration of nature and ecological integrity are vital prerequisites for long-term economic growth, financial stability and human well-being,” he said in a press release.
“By signing the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge, Phoenix Group is committing to driving forward collaboration and helping to develop solutions for an economic and financial transformation; one which is wholly compatible with a thriving natural world.”
Much of the advocacy work done with business to increase biodiversity action is directed at the financial industry, in a hope that major investor can drive nature positive decisions across their portfolios.
news@carbon-pulse.com
*** Click here to sign up to our weekly biodiversity newsletter ***