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TOP STORY

UK-funded initiative to pilot biodiversity crediting in Uganda, Zambia

An initiative funded by the UK government has launched a programme to generate biodiversity credits through nature restoration and conservation projects in Uganda and Zambia.

MARKET

Brazilian group publishes crediting methodology for jaguar protection

A Brazilian company has released a methodology and guidelines for issuing biodiversity stewardship tokens to projects that successfully protect and restore habitats for jaguars.

Conservation alliance asks for clearer purpose, offset ban in Australia’s nature repair market

The Australian government should clarify the purpose of its planned biodiversity market and rule out the use of credits for offsetting purposes for at least three years, according to an umbrella organisation for some of the nation’s biggest conservation groups.

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Asset manager calls on governments to provide regulatory foundations for nature positive investments

If the world is to meet the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), governments must act swiftly to put in place regulations that incentivise nature positive investments and penalise nature negative activity, a global asset manager has said.

Researchers highlight “blind spot” in draft TNFD nature disclosure guidance

Researchers have pointed to what they regard as a significant omission in the draft Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework relating to extinction risk which they have raised with the body as part of submitted formal feedback.

UNDP launches biodiversity finance resource database

The United Nations Development Programme has launched a new biodiversity finance resource database which aims to close the financing gap for biodiversity conservation by listing worldwide funding opportunities from public and private resources.

Asset managers fare poorly on climate and biodiversity action -report

Global asset managers are largely failing to align portfolios to net-zero pathways and are also mostly ignoring biodiversity risks, according to a report published Sunday that relied on a comprehensive sample of global data.

Canadian miner hands C$10 mln to Chilean Nature Fund for MPAs

Canadian mining firm Teck Resources has donated C$10 million ($7.5 mln) to the Chilean Nature Fund (FNC), with the funds to go towards its work with the South American country’s marine protected areas (MPAs).

UK pension funds slow to move on natural capital, biodiversity

Almost two-thirds of UK asset owners have yet to make any natural capital investments, with lack of knowledge cited as one of several barriers to progress in research conducted by advisory firm and asset manager member network Pensions for Purpose.

POLICY

Tensions mount within European Parliament amid split over nature law

Tensions within the European Parliament have been rising for weeks, with fractious negotiations over the bloc’s proposed nature restoration law reaching breaking point in recent days.

Denmark ups ocean protection target to align with GBF

Denmark has become the latest country to release plans for expanding its marine protected areas (MPAs) to ensure more than 30% of its ocean will be protected by the end of the decade.

MARKET

Scene and done – A group of eight environmental NGOs this week came together and formed the Scene Coalition, an initiative that will focus on delivering nature-based projects across Southeast Asia that reduce carbon emissions and conserve biodiversity. Scene Coalition will support investment in and development of high-quality, triple-benefit projects that also benefit Indigenous peoples and local communities, they said. The founders included Conservation International, the Nature Conservancy, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, Birdlife International, Wildlife Conservation Society, Mandai Nature, WRI Indonesia, and WWF Singapore, with the Boston Consulting Group providing strategic advice. (Carbon Pulse)

Below ground – Start-up climate tech investment marketplace HeavyFinance and soil carbon measurement firm Agricarbon this week announced a strategic partnership to develop a 20,000-ha soil carbon project in Lithuania. Heavy Finance has developed a Green Loans concept that involves interest free loans for farmers to finance regenerative farming, and the two firms hope to attract investments over the next year to expand their activities. HeavyFinance has so far facilitated €38 mln in loans to 1,300 farmers across Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Portugal. (Carbon Pulse)

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Coasting along – Eight leading conservation organisations have joined forces to help reverse the decline of vulnerable coastal species in Scotland. The Species on the Edge programme will focus on the conservation of 37 priority species such as bumblebees. It aims to secure the future for coastal and island species as well as raising awareness of biodiversity in Scotland. Many of the species the programme will help are at risk of extinction, and include amphibians, birds, bats, plants, butterflies, bumblebees, and a number of other invertebrates. The scheme was officially launched at an event in Balnagowan Estate in Invergordon on Saturday. (BBC)

Scrapped – While demand for secondary metals is predicted to overtake primary metals within the next 20 years, and with 400 million tonnes of metal recycled annually, there is still no globally recognised, standardised authentication process to verify the origin of recycled metal and track its use through the supply chain. This can prevent companies from accurately accounting environmental impact in their ESG reporting, and with the EU corporate sustainability reporting directive taking effect in 2024, nearly 50,000 companies subject to mandatory sustainability reporting, including non-EU companies with subsidiaries operating within the EU or are listed on EU regulated markets – could be staring straight into a blind spot. London- and Chicago-based trading platform Orbex, recognising this gap in the market, launched in May the world’s first marketplace for globally recognised authenticated recycled metals. (mining.com)

Plastic and more – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has signed an MoU with UNEP to address sustainability challenges in the aviation industry, in alignment with the UN sustainable development goals. Primarily their cooperation will focus on reducing plastics consumption, though they will also work together on issues such as sustainable aviation fuel, sustainable finance, climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation – including prevention of wildlife trafficking – and sustainable tourism. (Trade Arabia)

Counting crows – Digital international bank Areti Bank this week became the latest to join the Partnership for Biodiversity Accounting Financials (PBAF), an initiative that is developing the PBAF Standard, which enables financial institutions to assess and disclose impact and dependencies on biodiversity of loans and investments. Areti said in a statement that it joined the partnership as a “gateway to unlocking the true value of our natural world”. As of last September, PBAF had some 40 members from 11 countries.

POLICY

Mandate secured – Around 170 countries agreed last Friday to develop a first draft by November of what could become the first global treaty to curb plastic pollution by the end of next year. Country delegations, NGOs, and industry representatives gathered in Paris for the second round of UN talks toward a legally binding pact to halt the explosion of plastic waste, which is projected to almost triple by 2060. By the session’s close on Friday, countries agreed to prepare a “zero draft” text of what would become a legally binding plastics treaty and to work between negotiation sessions on key questions such as the scope and principles of the future treaty. The “zero draft” text would reflect options from the wide-ranging positions of different countries by the start of the next round of talks to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, in November. (Reuters)

Upping ambition – In India, the state of Rajasthan’s new forest policy, released on Monday, aims to increase vegetation cover to 20% of the state within the next 20 years, with focus on increasing vegetation cover outside of forests. Currently, 9.6% of the state’s area counts as forest area, but vegetation cover only stands at 4.87%. The policy proposes measures like protection and consolidation, ecological restoration, sustainability, expansion, evidence-based approach, and stakeholder participation. (Times of India)

Reef action – In Australia, the federal and Queensland state governments this week announced a A$160-mln ($107 mln) spending package designed at protecting the Great Barrier Reef, which will include efforts to cut net fishing and other activities that threaten species like dugongs, turtles, dolphins, and sharks. The governments aim to make the reef gillnet free by mid-2027. The federal government is also asking Queensland to declare hammerhead sharks a no take species for commercial fishers.

SCIENCE & TECH

Under the radar – Environmental DNA can be collected from the atmosphere using existing air-pollution monitors, according to a new study. Plants, animals, and other organisms shed DNA into soils, water, and the air that can be collected and analysed. Over the past 20 years, researchers have figured out ways to use this data to track a wide range of biodiversity around the world. But there is currently no global infrastructure network to monitor biodiversity in this way. New research, published in Current Biology, finds that air-quality-monitoring systems, thousands of which are already in place in more than 100 countries, potentially already capture and store eDNA. (Carbon Brief)

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