The race is on: governments adopt Nature Compact at the G7 but is it enough?
Business for Nature welcomes the Nature Compact agreed by the G7, but now we need concrete actions to achieve an equitable, nature-positive and carbon neutral future.
On Sunday, G7 leaders adopted a Nature Compact that committed to halting and reversing biodiversity loss and halving carbon emissions by 2030. This renewed sense of ambition builds on:
The Dasgupta Review, that demonstrated that long-term economic growth, prosperity and equity can only be achieved through a nature-positive economy.
A new paper backed by a range of organizations on why we need an actionable global goal for nature.
The launch of a new campaign called #TheRaceIsOn supported by many governments and organizations that aims to drive and support the urgent action required across all sectors of society to secure a nature-positive world by 2030.
A peer-reviewed report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) that found that restoring nature boosts biodiversity and ecosystems that can rapidly absorb carbon emissions.
The launch of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) that marked an important step towards organizations having a framework to report and act on evolving nature-related risks.
“The G7 Nature Compact provides yet more momentum and awareness of the increasing threats our economies and livelihoods face as a result of rising biodiversity loss. Now these words must be translated into action in order to rapidly accelerate the progress and investments needed from the private sector to create sustainable growth, generate clean jobs and potentially unlock $US trillions in economic opportunities. Leading businesses stand ready and willing to work together to support the transition to a nature-positive world.”
The Nature Compact significantly builds on the Metz Charter on Biodiversity that was adopted by the G7 in 2019. For example, by providing:
Much greater ambition overall on the commitments to protect and restore nature and biodiversity.
The importance of needing to take an integrated approach across climate and nature in a way that prioritizes the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
Clarity on how commitments for nature will be implemented for example through Multilateral Environmental Agreements and the adoption of an ambitious post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.
A clear role on the important role the private sector and financial institutions can and must play on nature and the need for governments and business to work together.
Recognition on the need to increase investment from all sources and to make sure nature is accounted for in decision-making and disclosure.
At the same time, in some areas the Nature Compact doesn’t go far enough, in particular on harmful subsidies for biodiversity and we would like to see the wording strengthened from ‘acknowledging’ and ‘reviewing’ to ‘eliminating’ and/or ‘redirecting subsidies.
As the Dasgupta Review highlighted, globally we spend 5-6 times more on subsidies that are harmful to biodiversity than we do on protecting and restoring it, so removing these perverse subsidies and incentives is one of the biggest opportunities we have to mobilize resources to close the biodiversity finance gap in order to rewire our economic system and reward sustainable, long-term performance.
While it’s heartening to see the G7 embrace the concept of a nature-positive future, we are still destroying nature and biodiversity at an unprecedented rate. The race is now on to build on the G7’s announcements and the support from 89 leaders who have endorsed the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature to see this rhetoric translated into implementable and binding policies and laws. Including through the adoption of a transformative global biodiversity agreement on nature at CBD COP15 and ensuring nature is recognized in an appropriate way – as part of the solution to rising carbon emissions but also as a crisis in its own right– during the COP26 climate negotiations later this year.
Read BfN’s recommendations to strengthen the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework
Read our updated CBD Business Guide to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.