Business for Nature's opening statement at CBD Open-ended Working Group 4 in Nairobi
Syed Mohazri Syed Hazari, Deputy Head, Ecology & Environment Department, DHI Water & Environment delivered the statement on behalf of the Business for Nature coalition at CBD OEWG4’s opening plenary.
Thank you Mr. Co-Chair,
My name Syed Mohazri Syed Hazari, I am Deputy Head of the Ecology & Environment Department at the Malaysian based company DHI Water & Environment.
I am making this statement on behalf of the Business for Nature coalition.
This is the final sprint to adopt a framework that will set us on track to reverse nature loss by 2030 and create a nature-positive economy.
We are not saying it will be easy. We don’t have all the answers. But we know what we must do.
The science is clear. We need to act now. We need to act together. If we let the complexity of the challenge weaken the ambition, we will have failed.
Let’s learn from the climate agenda. We cannot afford to waste another 10 years because we don’t have all the answers about baselines or definitions today. Delaying action will only make it more likely we reach irreversible tipping points. This will affect us and future generations. It will put people’s livelihoods under even more pressure.
Hundreds of companies are already taking voluntary action. But it’s not enough. We need to urgently scale and speed up action.
Representing the leading business voice here today, we call on you, Parties, to adopt mandatory requirements for businesses and financial institutions to assess and disclose their impacts and dependencies on nature in Target 15. In a recent consultation conducted by Business for Nature, more than 90% of business - including multinationals and SMEs - said such mandatory disclosure requirements were needed. This is the fastest way to level the playing field and create fair competition so that environmental performance is recognized, valued and accounted for in the same way as financial performance.
We call on you Parties to transform the rules of the economic game by reforming, redirecting or eliminating subsidies harmful to biodiversity and to increase positive incentives.
Finally, we call on you to adopt a Global Goal for Nature, a clear mission for everyone to align on: a mission to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 to reach a nature positive world.
Together these asks would send a powerful signal to business.
Leading businesses stand ready to support the implementation of the Framework. But we cannot rely on voluntary actions alone anymore. It is time you compel businesses to act.
Thank you, Mr. Co-Chair.