Presenting Biodiversity Pulse, Carbon Pulse’s free newsletter on the biodiversity market. It’s a twice-weekly summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world. Subscribe here
All articles in this edition are free to read (no subscription required).
TOP STORIES
BRIEFING: Fourth round of UN plastic talks closes amid disappointment due to insufficient progress
The latest round of negotiations on the UN plastic treaty wrapped up on Monday with shy steps forward on the draft text, due to be finalised by the end of the year, though observers levelled criticism over the lack of progress on production cuts and funding mechanisms.
BRIEFING: Investigation into Australian environmental offsets finds weak legal protections, regulators caving to developers
An investigation into Australia’s federal environmental offset scheme has found a ‘set and forget’ regulatory approach has led to areas earmarked for conservation being impacted or developed without consequence.
MARKET
UN-backed alliance grapples with assessing integrity of the nascent biodiversity credit market
The Biodiversity Credits Alliance (BCA) on Monday released an issue paper delineating the process of developing a review mechanism for the emerging biodiversity credit market in a bid to quell concerns over nature risks related to credited projects.
INTERVIEW: Indigenous-led biodiversity units are getting market traction
Market interest in biodiversity projects led by Indigenous Peoples is surging as local leaders in the Amazon rainforest strive to scale up funding through voluntary credits, according to a project developer.
INTERVIEW: Carbon standard to pilot nature stewardship credits in 2025
Carbon standard Social Carbon plans to release a methodology for ‘nature stewardship credits’ during the third quarter of this year at the latest, with the first pilots expected to launch in 2025, the company has told Carbon Pulse.
Soil database would boost agricultural biodiversity credits, says Mirova exec
A soil database for small farmers would help financial institutions scale up the nascent biodiversity credits market, an expert at French investor Mirova has said.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Major investors to vote for PepsiCo biodiversity risk shareholder proposal
Institutional investors including the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund and Rothschild & Co are asking PepsiCo to report on its dependencies on biodiversity in a bid to quantify the financial risks related to nature loss.
POLICY
Countries failed to report on half of commitments under pre-2020 biodiversity targets
Nearly half of countries’ policy pledges for nature made in the National Biodiversity Strategies and Actions Plans (NBSAPs) before 2020 were not supported by evidence of actions taken by governments, a paper has revealed, sounding the alarm over the reporting gaps ahead of this year’s COP16 UN biodiversity summit.
Florida to allocate $1.5 bln to biodiversity restoration, water quality improvement
The US state of Florida has announced a $1.5-billion commitment to restore biodiversity and improve water quality, including what it claims to be the largest single-year investment ever made to protect the Everglade wetlands.
PROJECTS
Plastic offsetting project in Indonesia suspended following community complaints -media
A plastic offsetting project backed by a food and drink multinational has been suspended on Verra’s plastic credit registry following complaints by the local community that the recycling facility was built illegally close to their land and without proper consultation, leading to withdrawal of involvement by the multinational.
SCIENCE & TECH
Biodiversity conservation actions found to be effective in two-thirds of cases
Nature conservation actions implemented to date have led to gains in biodiversity or contributed to slowing its decline in two-thirds of cases, according to a study claiming to be the first of its kind.
More than half of world’s plastic pollution linked to 56 companies, study finds
Fifty-six multinationals are responsible for more than half of the world’s branded plastic pollution, with five companies producing nearly a quarter of that, a study has unveiled.
—————————————————
CONFERENCE
The HackSummit, Europe’s largest gathering of ClimateTech builders and investors is coming to Lausanne, Switzerland on June 13-14. And you’re invited. You’ll be in great company with 1,500 of the brightest minds in climate and biodiversity, including Marty Odlin of Running Tide, Kevin Webb of Superorganism, Zoe Balmforth of Pivotal, Leo Caprez of BrainForest and Sonja Stuchtey of The Landbanking Group. And it’ll probably be the most fun you’ll have at a ClimateTech Summit this year. Ready to join? Use the code CARBONPULSE20 to save 20% on your pass.
—————————————————
BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
MARKET
New business – Marine restoration startup Urchinomics has reached an agreement with Hokkaido Electric Power to consider a sea urchin farming business to preserve the marine environment and revitalise local fisheries in the Hokkaido region, according to a company statement. Urchinomics is promoting a circular business model that buys, raises, and sells sea urchins that live in rocky areas, while Hokkaido Electric Power has developed low-carbon algae reefs and an automatic sea urchin capture device. The power supplier is also developing a blue carbon project aimed at regenerating seaweed beds at multiple locations in Hokkaido.
POLICY
Deep seabed exploration – The government of France has announced a public investment of €25 mln to support the exploration of the deep seabed. The Grands Fonds Marins project has been launched to prevent the irreversible destruction of marine ecosystems that are home to vulnerable biodiversity. The allocation will go towards 11 projects run by public and private companies.
Lobbies for plastic – The fourth round of negotiations on the UN plastic treaty (INC-4) in Ottawa, Canada, has seen an increase in the number of fossil fuel lobbyists. According to an analysis of the provisional list of participants released by the Center for International Environmental Law, there were 196 lobbyists linked to the fossil fuel and chemical industry registered for the plastic talks, a 37% increase from the 143 lobbyists registered at INC-3.
Wishlist – A group of conservationists have issued a set of recommendations to Singapore’s government to enhance biodiversity policies in the city-state. The Singapore terrestrial conservation plan asked for a more ambitious effort in restoring and rehabilitating degraded habitats. It also called for establishing clear legal boundaries of protected nature areas, as well as intensifying research into biodiversity, ecology, and conservation to better inform priority-setting. The Minister for National Development, Desmond Lee, said the government will carefully study the recommendations, which may inform future national policies on biodiversity.
Demanding rollback – Over 100 environmental and human rights organisations and about 400 citizens in India have urged the country’s environment ministry to rollback the green credit programme which will dilute forest conservation laws and incentivise more forest diversion for industries, the Indian Express reported. In their eight-point petition, the rights organisations have urged the government to consider the long-term implications of the scheme on the country’s vulnerable ecosystems. Under the latest guidelines released by the ministry in February, the government said that it will consider one grown tree as equivalent to one green credit provided there is a minimum density of 1,100 trees per hectare. Further, these credits can be used by industries for meeting their CSR and ESG reporting targets.
Motion – The board of commissioners of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has approved a motion to integrate biodiversity efforts and nature-based solutions throughout the Department’s operations. Under the motion, opportunities should be explored to convert LADWP properties within underserved communities to native plant gardens or restoration areas.
SCIENCE & TECH
Aquaculture – The first Mediterranean Restorative Aquaculture Centre will open in La Rapita, Catalonia, Spain, by the end of 2024. The centre is the result of the collaboration between the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Generalitat de Catalunya. The facility will support the development of aquaculture in the region, including farming of macroalgae, sea urchins, bivalves, and holothurians.
Got a tip? How about some feedback? Email us at news@carbon-pulse.com
