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TOP STORY

Over 300 organisations commit to disclosing nature risks under TNFD

A cohort of 320 organisations with $4 trillion in market capitalisation have committed to begin adopting recommendations on nature-related financial disclosures within the next two years, in a sign of growing efforts to understand the financial risks posed by biodiversity loss.

MARKET

Biodiversity credit listing on trading website sparks supplier interest

Around 10 biodiversity credit project managers have expressed interest in selling units via an online marketplace, following the listing of credits from a company with South American sites, Carbon Pulse has learned.

Environment Bank ‘overwhelmed’ with potential biodiversity credit projects

UK-headquartered conservation company Environment Bank has engaged with numerous managers of sites globally that could become its next biodiversity credit venture, an executive has said.

Accounting for Nature partners with Australian fintech firm to build platform linking environmental co-benefits with global carbon credits

Accounting for Nature (AFN) has partnered with an Australian technology solutions firm to develop digital infrastructure linking environmental improvements to eligible carbon credits, they announced Tuesday.

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Bank calls for rapid scaling up of global biodiversity finance, tech deployment

The world needs better economic incentives and clear policy direction to ramp up biodiversity finance and deploy nature measurement technology at a scale not seen before, a major investment bank has said.

POLICY

OECMs could help Germany achieve big share of GBF target, report finds

Other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) could contribute up to 1 million hectares of land towards Germany’s Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) target to protect 30% of its land and sea by 2030 (30×30), researchers have found.

Lawyer: UK government advice on biodiversity gain hierarchy ‘misleading’

The UK government’s advice on the biodiversity net gain (BNG) has incorrectly suggested the order of preference for how developers handle nature impacts is mandatory, a lawyer has said.

Amazon needs $2.5 billion a year for reforestation, Colombian president says

Some $2.5 billion per year is needed to revitalise deforested lands in the Amazon basin, the Colombian president has said, as his government prepares to host UN biodiversity talks later this year.

SCIENCE & TECH

Social, political disparities in biodiversity data can impact global conservation efforts and investment decisions, study says

Social and political disparities in biodiversity data may significantly impact global conservation efforts and investments in biodiversity-related initiatives worth billions of dollars, researchers said in a recent paper published in the journal Science.

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Taking the step – Swedish carmaker Volvo this week announced a target of “striving to be net positive and contribute to a nature positive future”. It has estimated its impact on biodiversity using 2021 data, and will use that as a baseline to improve upon. Its plan includes measures to avoid and reduce impacts from within its value chain as well as designing a programme for restoration and conservation activities within ecosystems where it operates or sources materials from. Volvo said it will work with supply chain partners to establish awareness on biodiversity issues.

Landscape fun – A fund for local-led landscape restoration projects operating in Africa, TerraFund for AFR100, has said it is awarding $17.8 mln collectively in grants, loans, and equity finance to 92 non-profits. Through 2030, the capital is projected to grow over 12.7 mln trees, restore 47,000 hectares of land, and create 52,000 temporary and full-time jobs. Some 36 organisations from Kenya will receive $7.5 mln; in Rwanda, 20 enterprises will receive $3.6 mln; in Burundi, 11 companies will receive $2.1 mln.

POLICY

Orchid says no – In Australia, supermarket chain Woolworths’ A$67 mln warehouse expansion plans have been knocked back after a critically endangered orchid was found flourishing at the site. The project was signed off as “clearly unacceptable” by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, whose office rejected the proposal. The supermarket giant had asked the minister to allow it to proceed with the development, and destroy roughly 35% of the region’s last known Wyong sun orchids (thelymitra adorata), reports Yahoo News Australia.

Guardians of the galaxy – A town in Colorado has become the first in the US to appoint legal guardians for nature, Inside Climate News has said. Two people will prepare annual report on ecosystem health and make recommendations on improving water quality, wildlife habitats, and wetlands protection in a section of Boulder Creek. A regional board approved residents Alan Apt, an author, and Rich Orman, a retired lawyer, as the first guardians.

Gone fishing – The UN FAO’s Committee on Fisheries has a new sub-committee on fisheries management meeting this week until Thursday. The inaugural meeting will cover best practices for the effective management of fisheries resources, the fight against illegal fishing, and mainstreaming biodiversity. The group’s main functions are to provide technical and policy guidance on fisheries management.

SCIENCE & TECH

Davos nature alliance – NatureMetrics, Salesforce, consultancy Environmental Resources Management, and data firm Planet Labs have launched the NatureTech Alliance at Davos. The group will collaborate on biodiversity measurement, management and disclosure for global corporations, Kat Bruce, founder of NatureMetrics said in a post on LinkedIn.

It’s not rocket science – A proposed rocket-launching facility near Port Lincoln in South Australia should not go ahead, and the site should become a southern emu-wren repopulation site to save the bird from extinction, an environmental expert told ABC. Australian space company Southern Launch has entered the public consultation phase of its proposal to build a multi-user rocket launch facility at Whalers Way. But Whalers Way is one of the more secure parts of the endangered bird’s range, according to University of Adelaide associate professor of environmental economics Patrick O’Connor – who said the privately-owned site zoned for conservation was not suitable for a rocket launch facility and feared for the Eyre Peninsula subspecies of the bird.

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