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
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TOP STORIES
Regen reports sale of $129k of biodiversity credits on its platform
US-based environmental credit platform Regen Network Development has reported the sale of over 92,000 biodiversity credits worth a total of $129,000, listed on its marketplace and generated by three separate developers.
EU Commission boss Von der Leyen backs nature credits to drive restoration
The nascent nature credits market is a key solution to the need for economic incentives to restore nature, with its viability proven by carbon, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech on Friday.
MARKET
INTERVIEW: Forest restoration company gears up for biodiversity credit market
A native forest restoration company is in talks with two major standards to launch its first biodiversity credit projects next year, with a big park in the Philippines among the sites under consideration, the firm told Carbon Pulse.
Biodiversity markets need ‘trust factor’ to scale, tech expert says
Tech firms can give emerging biodiversity markets the ‘trust factor’ companies need to buy nature credits without fear of backlash, a data specialist told a webinar this week.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Financiers with $29 trillion urge nature positive, climate action
A global investor statement was released Tuesday, with signatures of 534 financial institutions managing more than $29 trillion in assets calling for a whole-government approach to reaching nature positive and net zero emissions.
POLICY
Japan launches trial of nature coexistence support certificates
Japan’s environment ministry on Friday announced it is now accepting applications from companies seeking so-called nature coexistence support certificates, after the originally intended pilot late last year got delayed.
Non-profit urges COP16 to put world on track to meeting biodiversity targets
The priority of UN biodiversity conference COP16 should be delivering on the pledges made at the last event in Montreal while tracking progress, a World Resources Institute (WRI) executive said on Tuesday.
Australian cattle body seeks to exempt agricultural lands from EU deforestation rules
An Australian cattle industry lobby group has released its definition of deforestation, in an attempt to seek exemptions for agricultural lands from upcoming EU rules.
Rural workers reject nature commodification in run-up to COP16
Smallholder farmers have released a declaration in advance of UN biodiversity conference COP16 with a rejection of discussions that aim to commodify nature.
SCIENCE & TECH
Human impacts trigger similar responses in fish in different rivers, study says
Fish populations in two large rivers in the US and China respond similarly to human-led changes in environmental conditions, a paper has said.
Protected areas largely fail to prevent forest loss, study says
Protected areas (PAs) contribute to preventing, on average, just 30% of forest loss, with the lowest levels of protection observed in some of the world’s most biodiversity-rich countries, a paper has said.
COMMENT
Embracing nature in corporate strategy
One year on from the launch of the TNFD framework, the data and technology to measure, report and act on nature exists already and is improving by the day. The message from stakeholders is clear: embedding nature into decision making is becoming an expectation not an option. The time to act is now, writes Natcap’s Sebastian Leape.
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EVENTS
ecology calling returns to London in September. Bringing the city’s thriving nature and biodiversity business community together for series II, the intimate weekly evening events are held in the Linnean Society of London’s Meeting Room where Darwin presented ‘On the Origin of Species’. Panel discussions by leaders in the field provide plenty of room for audience Q&A with further networking opportunities at the nearby pub afterwards. This series topics include: navigating greenwashing, advances in MRV with eDNA, beaver reintroduction in Britain, and technical considerations for nature finance, with more TBA. Use the ‘pulse20’ code to secure your discount on tickets.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
MARKET
Farmers against markets – A French small farmers union Confederation Paysanne has “strongly” opposed the EU Commission’s backing of a biodiversity market. In a statement released on Monday, the union stated that the Commission should prioritise implementing robust public policies to ensure that farmers’ incomes come from the sale of their products, rather than from carbon or biodiversity credits. “Carbon and biodiversity credit markets cannot remain stable over time and will not provide a guarantee of prices and income, nor a sustainable evolution of sustainable practices,” the group said.
Swiss purchase – Switzerland-based Solana Foundation announced last week the purchasing of biodiversity credits from Colombia-based Terrasos. Terrasos’ units are listed on the Regen Network Development’s marketplace at around $25 per credit. Verified by KPMG, each unit represents the protection of 10 sq. meters of conserved or restored ecosystems in the Colombian habitat bank El Globo for 30 years.
Nature natter – While politically challenging, the shift from voluntary to mandatory nature markets is essential to addressing environmental challenges like biodiversity loss, said Matthew Hay, natural capital manager at UK-based conservation company Nattergal in a blog. The natural capital markets, be they carbon credits, biodiversity units or nutrient mitigation, are “almost entirely dependent” on the ‘polluter pays’ principle, said Hay. “Ultimately, nature markets need to move beyond being voluntary. We cannot have challenges as big as reversing the decline of biodiversity contingent on ephemeral demand.”
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Don’t feed the animals – Over 100 international civil society organisations have urged US banks to halt their financing of industrial livestock production, Friends of the Earth has said. The letter, delivered to financiers including Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase, highlighted the role the institutions play in exacerbating the climate crisis through supporting meat, dairy, and feed corporations. Among the most problematic food-related companies were JBS, Tyson Foods, and Cargill, the letter said.
Abolish nature loss – The L’Oreal Group and specialty manufacturer Evonik have invested an undisclosed amount in biotech company Abolis Biotechnologies, in a three-way agreement, as part of a €35 mln Series A funding round. L’Oreal and Evonik took minority investments in Abolis, a French company that creates industrial solutions based on microorganisms for cosmetics, healthcare and food. The agreement aims to find better ways to make beauty products more sustainable, L’Oreal said in a press release.
POLICY
To-do list – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has asked the new EU environment commissioner, Jessika Roswall, to lead the bloc’s work on nature credits. In a letter to Sweden’s former minister of EU affairs, von der Leyen stressed the need to “prioritise the design of incentives for nature positive actions and private investment”. The letter follows von der Leyen’s backing of nature credits as a solution to the need for economic incentives to restore nature.
Forest watch – The Jordanian minister of agriculture has partnered with Middle Eastern tech company Sustainable World Software to monitor the country’s forests through AI-driven geospatial technology. The forest assessment will provide data on forest health and distribution, with the aim of outlining strategies for biodiversity conservation, combating desertification, and expanding green areas. The project will also generate carbon credits, local media Jordan News reported.
Support – The US is funding wildlife protection in Vietnam through two new projects that have received funds in excess of $2 mln via USAID, the Vietnam Investment Review reports. The Sustainable Wildlife Conservation project, and the Conserving Threatened Species project, will support Cat Tien National Park, Dong Nai Culture and Nature Reserve in the southern province of Dong Nai, and Huong Son Special Use Forest in Hanoi. The initiatives will improve biodiversity protection through enhancing capacities of their staff, and applying spatial monitoring and reporting tool technology in forest patrolling and camera traps for wildlife surveillance.
Aquatic species – The Canadian government has allocated approximately C$2 mln ($1.47 mln) to two initiatives aimed at protecting aquatic species in Newfoundland and Labrador. Over C$1.7 mln will go towards a three-year project led by the Atlantic Healthy Oceans Initiative, which will focus on determining the impacts of fishing practices, vessel traffic, and other sources of ocean noise on marine mammals and fish stocks. Another C$245,000 will fund an initiative developed by Intervale Associates that will address threats from fishing-related plastic waste.
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