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TOP STORIES

TNFD calls for adoption of final recommendations following launch

The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) has called for companies to adopt its recommendations as the “ball starts to move” following its long-awaited final framework launch.

Verra releases its long-awaited nature credit standard for public consultation

Carbon credit standard body Verra has launched a public consultation on its SD Vista Nature Framework as it looks to get set in the emerging biodiversity credit market.

MARKET

Environmental credits standard eyes role in global plastic treaty

Plastic credits such as the ones it issues itself should be an integral part of a new global plastic treaty framework to help close the estimated $40 billion finance gap to stave off the plastic crisis, environmental credits standard body Verra has told the UN.

Queensland govt issues A$10 mln reef credit purchase guarantee

The Queensland state government in Australia has committed A$10 million ($6.4 mln) towards purchasing reef credits from two project developers if they can’t find other buyers, in a bid to kickstart the nascent market.

Environment Bank markets biodiversity credits from pilot

The Environment Bank is to offer voluntary biodiversity credits on sale from a 30-year pilot site of undisclosed size in south England, it has said.

City of London targets marine biodiversity in centre for nature finance ambition

The City of London Corporation has called for the UK to include marine biodiversity in its nature credits market as a “matter of urgency” as part of its ambition for the country to become a global nature finance centre, it has said.

Kenya-based outfit set to announce voluntary biodiversity credit transaction next week

As new standards emerge for voluntary nature-based credits, a project developer in Kenya is shortly to announce its first transaction of biodiversity units.

Carbon developer sets sights on biodiversity market with new global venture

A carbon project developer launched a global business Monday at New York Climate Week to define social value metrics for nature that aims to be a frontrunner in the biodiversity credit market.

Australian study touts soundscape analysis as low-cost way to measure biodiversity, as nature repair market bill hits political chicanery

An Australian paper has trialled the use of ‘soundscape analysis’ as a low-cost way to indicate farm dam health, with its authors saying it could be an innovative way to track and reward biodiversity change in Australia’s nature repair market.

TNFD launch is tipping point for biodiversity credits, report says

The voluntary biodiversity credits market has reached a “tipping point” following the launch of the final recommendations by Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), according to a report led by an Australian law firm.

BUSINESS & FINANCE

INTERVIEW: No robust nature market if finance sector can’t engage Indigenous peoples, says UN initiative

Potential investors in biodiversity credits must engage effectively with Indigenous peoples or risk sub-par returns, as the wider financial sector moves towards building nature into their decision-making, according to the co-lead of a UN finance initiative.

Global biodiversity fund operational after fresh donations announced

A multilateral biodiversity fund can now go live as sufficient contributions have been made, nine months after leaders set global targets on nature, alongside other restoration and protection commitments made at the United Nations General Assembly.

Executives think biodiversity is not businesses’ problem, says research

A think tank released research on Monday that showed a mismatch between executive rhetoric and corporate action on biodiversity within their supply chains, with many executives suggesting the issue is not the responsibility of private companies.

Industry body urges Australian insurers to act on nature risk, back credits

Extreme weather events and biodiversity loss create major risks for Australian insurers, but also opportunities to invest in projects and instruments that mitigate those risks, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) said Friday.

Pacific island nation to sell conservation certificates to fund marine protection

The small island nation of Niue will sell certificates, dubbed Ocean Conservation Commitments (OCCs), to help protect its marine areas, targeting $18 million in funding.

Impossible to tell whether corporate biodiversity claims are greenwashing, academic says

Assessing whether companies are greenwashing through their ecosystem restoration project claims is not possible due to a lack of reporting, an academic has said.

Over two-thirds of investors working on nature plan to increase their investment, says report

Existing investors in nature across six countries sense an emerging opportunity to boost their nature portfolio size, although political concerns may hinder the follow-through, a report published by an advisory firm on Wednesday has suggested.

EIB to screen clients on biodiversity risk from 2025

Starting in 2025, the European Investment Bank (EIB) will screen clients based on their biodiversity risk using a ‘nature-positive’ definition, it said on Wednesday.

Orsted urges renewable energy developers to set net-positive biodiversity strategies

The largest offshore wind developer in the world on Thursday called on all renewable energy developers to set net-positive biodiversity targets when developing projects.

TOOLS & GUIDANCE

Current biodiversity metrics do not help the financial sector make the right decisions, say researchers

Available metrics to assess biodiversity may not be fit for purpose and risk embedding negative biases into investor decision-making, according to a new paper that proposed two “forward-looking” approaches for biodiversity-focused investment decisions.

POLICY

Nearly 90% of global plastic pollution could be solved by 2040 with the right policy interventions, Nordic ministers say

The Council of Ministers in the five Nordic countries on Tuesday released a report saying most of the world’s plastic pollution problem could be gone in less than 20 years with the right policies in place, although infrastructure challenges are likely to obstruct their implementation.

MARKET

Getting on board – Three more forest-rich countries are set to imminently offer up tens of millions of sovereign REDD+ units under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, with Suriname, the first to already have had such issuances verified, expecting to complete sales of its carbon credits to buyers in the coming months at a targeted price of at least $30/tonne. (Carbon Pulse)

More forest money – Public-private initiative LEAF Coalition expects to announce its first transactions of forestry credits in the coming months, including a pre-payment fund offering supplier nations with upfront capital to help overcome technical challenges in finishing deals, its members said on Tuesday. (Carbon Pulse)

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Ambitious lender – Taiwanese bank E.SUN has granted a sustainability-linked NT$1 bln ($31.2 mln) loan to Yulon Motor, with key performance indicators related to biodiversity and climate change, it announced Wednesday. In particular, the arrangement has been designed to incetivise Yulon to contribute to the restoration of native Taiwanese tree species. Yulon Group in cooperation with Taiwan Reforestation Association has been planning a native tree species restoration park near its Sanyi factory area since last year, working on seed collection and seedling cultivation. The loan is part of E.SUN’s strategy to use its lending policy to help companies reach net zero emissions and become nature positive by 2050.

Enter the cavalry – Colossal Biosciences, the world’s first de-extinction company, has teamed up with BioRescue, a consortium initiating and leading the scientific rescue mission of the northern white rhino employing advanced assisted reproduction technologies and stem cell associated techniques, they announced this week. The partnership will develop a roadmap for future rescue missions of endangered species using the expertise of both organisations.

JBS listing risks – Sixteen environmental NGOs, including Greenpeace, Oxfam Novib, and Friends of the Earth, have written to over 200 investors asking them to suspend further investment in Brazilian meat processor JBS until it provides a credible plan for addressing its deforestation risk, greenhouse gas emissions, and human rights issues. JBS announced plans to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this year.

POLICY

Not quite yet – A new UN treaty to protect the world’s oceans was signed by 67 countries on Wednesday, another step in efforts to reverse the damage done to fragile marine environments by overfishing and other human activities. The global pact to conserve biodiversity on the high seas was finally agreed in March and formally adopted by the United Nations in June. It is seen as a crucial tool to meet a target agreed last year to protect 30% of the earth’s land and sea by 2030. Despite the nearly 70 signatures at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, the treaty needs to be ratified on a national level before it goes into effect. (Reuters)

Fight for your right – In New Zealand, Maori leaders, including the Maori king, together with other leaders from throughout the Pacific have supported a resolution for the adoption of the whale as ocean ambassador to the United Nations. They are seeking support for a global agreement on protecting the legal personhood of whales in international waters. The resolution was proposed to the United Nations last week by Dr. Ralph Chami of Blue Green Future, who with blue carbon expert Carlos Duarte is one of the lead technicians working with Indigenous founders of the Hinemoana Halo Ocean Initiative. (Newsroom)

Banned – Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has unveiled what she’s touting as two “groundbreaking” new policies aimed at protecting the state’s coastline. The governor spoke about the policies during the keynote speech to a panel on ocean conservation at the Clinton Global Initiative’s meeting in New York City on Monday. She announced that, later this week, she’ll sign an executive order directing the state to create new biodiversity conservation goals for 2030, 2040, and 2050, as well as strategies for meeting them. Those targets, which will include coastal and marine habitats, will be “the strongest in the nation”, Healey vowed. In addition, Healey said, she’ll sign another executive order that immediately bans the purchase of single-use water bottles by state agencies, a step she described as unprecedented among US states. (GBH)

Getting started – Ghana has begun the process of domesticating the 23 targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). The 23 targets are being integrated into the country’s policies and programmes for implementation. The GBF seeks to guide global initiatives to conserve, preserve, and protect nature and its essential services to humanity through the year 2030. As part of the domestication process, Ghana will review the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), collect data, and integrate the targets into the activities of sector Ministries, Agencies, and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs). (News Ghana)

Together – Delegates from the East African Community (EAC) have called for concerted joint efforts between Kenya and Tanzania to save the Mara River Basin, which is threatened by environmental degradation. Speaking at the 12th Mara Day Scientific Conference, delegates from Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania emphasised that shared water resources such as the Mara River do not recognise political boundaries, nor should efforts to manage them sustainably. Consisting of researchers, scientists, experts, and stakeholders from diverse backgrounds from the three EAC states, they called for the improvement of transboundary water management and the promotion of peaceful coexistence between Kenya and Tanzania to conserve the critical ecosystem. (Nation)

SCIENCE & TECH

Accelerating – Groups of animal species are vanishing at a rate 35 times higher than average due to human activity, according to researchers, who say it is further evidence that a sixth mass extinction in Earth’s history is under way and accelerating. Scientists analysing the rate at which closely related animal species have gone extinct in the past 500 years have found they would have taken 18,000 years to vanish in the absence of humans, and the rate at which they are being lost is increasing. (Guardian)

Bad hare day – Scientists have developed a way to grow rabbit control viruses outside of live animals for the first time in a “major breakthrough”, Australian government agency the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has said. Australia has used rabbit-specific lethal viruses to try to control the invasive European species since the 1950s, but the rabbits eventually developed immunity. The model should expedite virus research while reducing the need for live animal testing, CSIRO said.

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