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TOP STORY

PREVIEW: High expectations that COP16 can boost demand for biodiversity credits

Scaling the voluntary biodiversity credit market, including through establishing a global framework to ensure integrity, will be among the core topics of discussion at the upcoming COP16 in Colombia, as standards and early movers see the summit as an opportunity to unlock corporate demand.

MARKET

African nature credit buyer’s club to launch with target of ‘millions of dollars’

The BIRA Coalition has announced it is forming a buyer’s club that aims to raise millions of dollars through nature credits generated by large-scale projects in Sub-Saharan African countries, Carbon Pulse has learned.

Communities pay the price for biodiversity offsets, report says

The “dangerous illusion” of biodiversity offsets damages communities and ecosystems, as the value of nature cannot be numbered, said a report published on Thursday by a forest coalition.

POLICY

ANALYSIS: Australia’s environmental credibility contrasts good intentions, summit delegates say

Attendees of Australia’s first Global Nature Positive Summit lauded the government for hosting the event, but the current political troubles it faces and lingering questions over how to incentivise private sector investment are not going away.

Commonwealth states to launch first-ever joint ocean declaration at upcoming Samoa meeting

Fifty-six member countries of the Commonwealth plan to make a joint declaration on ocean protection during the upcoming association’s meeting in Samoa, the first ever hosted by a Pacific Island nation.

UK govt agency finds most ecosystems at higher risk  

Almost all the UK’s ecosystem assets are at high or medium-high risk, requiring public and private investment, the government’s nature department said in a report published on Wednesday.

BRIEFING: Australia’s draft plan of attack on feral cats a good step forward, but implementation and cash will be key  

Australia is finalising an updated battle strategy for its war on feral cats, one of the biggest drivers of native mammal extinctions on the continent, but experts say how the plan is implemented and the funding behind it will be the key to victory.

PROJECTS

Climate Impact Partners, Deloitte launch programme to fund UK seagrass restoration

Voluntary carbon market experts Climate Impact Partners and Deloitte launched on Wednesday a programme to unlock financing towards seagrass recovery in the UK, as part of a wider seagrass carbon code currently under development in the country.

SCIENCE & TECH

World nears dangerous tipping points as wildlife populations collapse, WWF says

The decline in global wildlife populations accelerated between 2018 and 2020, according to a scientific assessment published on Thursday by the WWF, which warned that the world is fast approaching irreversible tipping points for nature and climate.

Biomass production threatens 10 mln ha of forests in Indonesia, study says

Over 10 million hectares of intact tropical forests in Indonesia are threatened by biomass power developments, including 127 Key Biodiversity Areas, according to a report.

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EVENTS

ecology calling brings London’s thriving nature markets and biodiversity community together for series II. Evening events are held in the Linnean Society of London’s Meeting Room from 17:30-20:00. Panel discussions by leaders in the field provide plenty of room for audience Q&A, with further networking opportunities at the pub afterwards. Upcoming discussions include: Oct. 9: Frontiers in Nature-Finance, Oct. 16: Greenwashing and greenhushing, Nov. 19: Translating four-letter acronyms into action: TNFD, CSRD. Use the ‘pulse20’ code now to secure your discount on tickets.

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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

MARKET

Salt marsh restoration – Shanghai has introduced a voluntary methodology for salt marsh restoration to create carbon credits under a regional offsetting programme. The new methodology aims to encourage restoration projects that can achieve CO2 removal by planting salt marsh vegetation or increasing the carbon storage of biomass and soil organic carbon, according to documents recently released by the municipal bureau of ecology and Environment. (Carbon Pulse)

Managing impacts – LATAM Airlines is looking to support carbon and biodiversity projects in Latin America as it strives to meet its sustainability goals without any regional sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its immediate disposal, the airline’s sustainability manager said Wednesday. In 2022, LATAM Airlines announced its commitment to increase its SAF use to 5% by 2030 while prioritising locally produced fuel in Latin America. (Carbon Pulse)

Big up BNG – The UK government has published two minor updates to its BNG policy. These affect the templates for large-scale phased development, a civil servant posted on LinkedIn. The ‘overall biodiversity gain plan template’ sets out the strategy for achieving 10% net gain across the entire development, while the ‘phase biodiversity gain plan template’ sets out each phase’s contribution to the overall 10%, and confirms progress towards the biodiversity gain objective.

Updated principles – Colombia-based environmental standard Cercarbono has strengthened its carbon and biodiversity credit certification programme with new social and environmental safeguards, it announced Wednesday. The company said the document reinforces its commitment to ensure certified projects adhere to the “highest principles of human rights, community participation, and responsible natural resource management”. The update includes a robust due diligence process, the inclusion of the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) process for local communities, and additional reporting requirements.

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Wolf at the door – A Brazilian state agency is demanding the implementation of protective measures on irrigation canals on a farm in the northeast of Brazil, supported by a programme backed by Dutch financier Rabobank, following the drowning of three wolves, according to Reporter Brasil. Between June and Aug. 2023, three near-threatened maned wolves drowned in the canals, it said. The farm had secured loans from the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), mediated by Rabobank.

Call to action – The Finance for Biodiversity (FfB) Foundation on Thursday called on world leaders to implement concrete actions to align public and private financial flows with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) ahead of COP16 UN biodiversity summit. FfB urged parties to develop strong regulatory frameworks and economic incentives to encourage nature-positive actions within the private sector. “While voluntary actions by the private sector are crucial, they are insufficient without a supportive policy environment,” FfB said in a statement.

POLICY

The plastic age – The US has pledged $14 mln towards tackling plastic pollution. The funding will go to a public-private partnership aimed at strengthening international efforts to combat plastic, the End Plastic Pollution Innovation Collaborative. The government made the announcement at the IUCN Leaders Forum in Geneva on Tuesday. The US has now donated $28 mln to the programme.

Win-win – Aligning agriculture with conservation efforts does not have to come at the expense of food production or economic return, conservation group IUCN found in a flagship report released this week. Done right, better land use management can ensure improvements in biodiversity, climate, and economic objectives, it said, though that might require rearranging incentives through efforts such as payments for ecosystem services and changes in laws and regulations. Around a third of species comprehensively assessed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species have agriculture documented as a direct threat.

One more – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority has been added to the IUCN Green List. The authority’s initiatives include planting 2.4 mln native tree and shrub seedlings, restoring 250,000 ha of degraded habitats, and relocating 1,235 wildlife species in the reserve, located beside the Jordan–Saudi Arabia border. Sites on the Green List are certified as being effectively managed and fairly governed, according to IUCN.

SCIENCE & TECH

New tool – Data platform BioDB has launched a tool aimed at helping governments, researchers, and organisations identify priority areas for conservation across 180 countries. Developed in collaboration with Israel’s Ben Gurion University of the Negev, the Nature Conservation Index (NCI) leverages 25 key indicators to evaluate protected area coverage, species at risk, conservation laws, and future trends. The tool can support assessments of countries’ progress in balancing nature conservation and development, said BioDB.

Harvest drone – Swedish tech firm AirForestry, the world’s first company to develop a technology for harvesting trees from above with drones, has closed a €10.3 mln seed funding round led by Northzone, it announced Thursday. Funding includes €1.7 mln in grants from the Swedish Energy Agency, which last year awarded the company with a €2.7 mln government grant. Other contributions came from greentech investors such as Sveaskog, Kiko VC, CapitalT, Walerud Ventures, SEB Greentech VC, and Cloudbreak V. The use of this fully-electric technology will minimise terrain disruption and protect biodiversity, the company said.

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