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TOP STORIES
INTERVIEW: BNG market taking off, with more buyers entering the fray -developer
England’s market for biodiversity net gain (BNG) is taking off, said a developer, which sold more units in January than during the whole second half of last year.
Scrapping UK’s biodiversity net gain market would have “appalling” impacts, experts say
Participants in the English biodiversity net gain (BNG) market have expressed dismay at the government reportedly questioning the scheme.
MARKET
Australian developer eyes large enterprise partners in scaled-up nature pilot
An Australian biodiversity project developer is looking to work with major corporations to set up a series of nature protection projects across the country.
BNG prices stable apart from lakes and ponds, report finds
Prices of English biodiversity net gain (BNG) off-site units paid by developers have remained stable over the last year, with the exception of some waterbodies, according to a report released Wednesday.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
UK investor sets biodiversity targets
A London-headquartered investment firm announced on Tuesday it has adopted a set of targets on nature, aiming to advance the management of biodiversity-related risks across its portfolio.
Chemical firm seals biodiversity partnership with IUCN
A Belgian-headquartered multinational chemicals firm on Tuesday announced it has partnered with green group the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to meet nature targets aligned with the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Marine plastics non-profit launches US fund for ocean restoration
A global non-profit dedicated to combatting plastic pollution has launched a US-based fund that aims to raise $30 million for marine biodiversity restoration.
TOOLS & GUIDANCE
Non-profit calls for mandatory nature-related disclosures for AI data centres
An influential Swiss-based non-profit has urged governments to mandate nature-related reporting for artificial intelligence (AI) data centres in order to better manage the sector’s dependencies and impacts on the environment.
POLICY
Cali fund key to implementing UN High Seas Treaty, IUCN says
A benefit-sharing mechanism for the use of digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources, such as the one established at COP16, can be crucial to support biodiversity conservation under the UN High Seas Treaty, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has said.
SCIENCE & TECH
High-income countries responsible for 13% of forest biodiversity loss, study says
Consumption-driven deforestation caused by high-income countries has been responsible for over 13% of forest habitat loss globally since 2001, according to a paper released on Wednesday.
Paper highlights gap between nature finance literature focus and actual contributions
The frequency of mentions of some nature finance tools in non-academic literature is inconsistent with their actual capital contributions, a preprint paper has said.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
MARKET
Forest projects – A New York-based carbon project developer has secured $160 mln in a Series B funding to expand the US projects it uses to generate afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) credits, the company said on Wednesday. Chestnut Carbon, which has an offtake agreement to deliver 7 mln ARR credits to tech giant Microsoft, plans to use the capital to acquire more unproductive agricultural land and enhance its technological capabilities. Since its founding in 2022, Chestnut has purchased more than 35,000 acres across six southern US states. (Carbon Pulse)
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Trump effect – Coca-Cola’s chief executive James Quincey has said the company may have to sell more beverages in plastic bottles in the US due to Donald Trump’s new taxes that are set to increase the cost of aluminium cans, BBC reported. Trump signed an executive order this week raising the US tariff rate on aluminium to 25% from 10%, “without exceptions or exemptions”. “If aluminium cans become more expensive, we can put more emphasis on PET [plastic] bottles”, Quincey said.
Indigenous-led – North American pulp and paper company Domtar announced on Wednesday it will invest $135,000 in a programme aimed at supporting Indigenous-led conservation projects in Canada. Dubbed First 30×30 Canada, the programme seeks to advance nature protection across areas that Indigenous Nations identify for conservation, known as Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas. Domtar committed to forging partnerships that explore nature-based solutions to address the ongoing environmental crisis, it said in a press release.
Ecuadorian cocoa – Singapore-based sustainable food and beverage company Ofi, international NGO Rikolto, and the German Development Agency announced on Thursday the launch of an agroforestry project in Ecuador backed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The initiative aims to help farmers mitigate against and adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis on cocoa production. Through agroforestry, farmers can improve cocoa yields and earn additional income from other planted crops, while enhancing carbon sequestration and promoting biodiversity conservation, the group said in a statement.
BNG board – The Biodiversity Net Gain Implementation Board, co-chaired by representatives from bodies including the UK’s Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs and Berkeley Homes, has been launched by Future Homes Hub. The non-profit – created to build homes in line with environmental targets – set up the board to facilitate cross-sector collaboration with industry leaders, key stakeholders, and relevant government bodies on BNG.
POLICY
Think twice – New Zealand’s Resources and Oceans Minister Shane Jones has said the country is considering withdrawing its support for an international deep-sea mining ban, backed by former Prime Minister Jacinda Arden in 2022, AFP reported. “We can’t deny ourselves the option where critical minerals have an increasingly critical role to play,” he told AFP. Conservationists and scientists have repeatedly called for a pause on deep-sea mining globally, arguing that its impacts have yet to be adequately understood as thousands of species have yet to be discovered.
Taken to court – NGOs Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) and Defense des Milieux Aquatiques (DMA) have initiated legal action against France for allegedly failing to prohibit bottom trawling in its marine protected areas. The controversial practice is being carried out in over three-quarters of French marine Natura 2000 sites, which violates national and EU environmental laws, according to EJF. “Current policies prioritise short-term profits and over-exploitation, leaving ecosystems degraded and fishermen without a clear path forward,” said Philippe Garcia, president of DMA.
Bat roof – The UK government does not have plan for how it is going to stop the building of excessively expensive environmental structures in the future, such as a kilometre-long, £100 mln tunnel over train line HS2 intended to protect bats, Sky News reported. Experts have said they struggle to see how the government prevents future such projects without repealing nature laws. The aim of the tunnel is to stop a rare breed of bat, which lives in an adjacent ancient woodland, from hitting high-speed trains.
SCIENCE & TECH
Peatlands – Only 17% of the world’s peatlands are protected despite storing more carbon than all the world’s forests combined, a study released Thursday has found. New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society warned of a critical mismatch between the global importance of peatlands and their current level of protection. Peatlands store roughly 600 bln tonnes of carbon while occupying just 3% of the planet’s land surface. (Carbon Pulse)
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