World Economic Forum (February 2023)

An insight exploring the most up-to-date figures on the threat to the global economy from biodiversity loss, including the fact that more than a million species are now threatened with extinction, and as much as 40% of the Earth’s land surfaces are now considered degraded. The insight also looks at the five key transformations that can help conserve the natural world whilst also boosting GDP.

Aviva Investors (February 2023)

Aviva Investors CEO Mark Versey lays out the investor’s three key stewardship priorities over the coming year – one of which is tackling nature loss, in which Mr Versey sets an expectation for companies to be reporting against the TNFD framework.

World Economic Forum (January 2023)

The World Economic Forum’s annual Global Risks report shows biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse as the fourth most pressing risk in the next decade, with nature-related events such as natural resource crises, failure to mitigate climate change, and large-scale environmental damage incidents being in the top ten in the next two years.

Bloomberg UK (December 2022)

An insight exploring the surge in interest from the financial community in biodiversity-related issues.

(Vox News 2022)

This insight looks at seven reasons to be optimistic about the effort to conserve the world’s biodiversity, including the lack of coverage of restoration success stories and the increase in tools being developed to track plants and animals.

(The Financial Times 2022)

An op-ed exploring the structural challenges faced by negotiators and organisers of the COP15 conference, and why, despite this, the conference – and action on biodiversity and nature – is vitally important.

(Eco-Business 2022)

An insight showing that public development banks are focusing on climate at the expense of nature, and calling for this to change at COP15 in Montreal.

(UN Global Compact 2022)

A sixty-minute course exploring the business case for action on nature loss, helping participants understand the importance of biodiversity to their business and what existing pioneers are already taking action on.

(South China Morning Post 2022)

An op-ed arguing that businesses and investors should do more to put the world on a path of sustainable growth and reduce biodiversity loss.

AFME & EY (November 2022)

A report exploring how the financial sector can help address the challenge of nature loss and benefit from the opportunities associated with conservation and regeneration.

(Moody’s 2022)

Moody’s Investor Service has released a new analysis exploring how over $4 trillion in listed debt is exposed to a larger degree of credit risk associated with environmental considerations. This insight explores the work done and what it means.

IUCN (September 2022)

An insight looking into the IUCN’s BioDev2030 programme in Mozambique and how it is engaging with business and finance in the country specifically focusing on two workshops held.

The Business Times (September 2022)

An op-ed outlining the significant leadership the Asia-Pacific region could take on investing in nature and shifting the global economy to nature positive.

McKinsey (September 2022)

According to recent research, over half of insurers and re-insurers believe that nature-related risk is material to their underwriting business, however nature risk is not being assessed by underwriters. This report provides a framework for insurers and reinsurers to assess nature risk in their underwriting activities.

The Financial Times (September 2022)

An insight exploring the rise of biodiversity as one of the most important themes in sustainable finance and investing, including examples of asset managers beginning to invest in natural capital.

ESG Investor (July 2022)

An insight explaining the new IPBES report on humanity’s reliance on the natural environment, and explaining the significance of IPBES and its work.

World Economic Forum (July 2022)

An insight exploring the current biodiversity crises and the challenges fancing the protection of biodiversity – plus what needs to happen next.

Global Ethical Finance Initiative (June 2022)

A video discussion on financing nature and biodiversity in the ASEAN region featuring speakers from the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, UNEP FI, WWF and ADM Capital.

BNP Paribas (June 2022)

An in-depth newsletter which covers all aspects of biodiversity and natural capital as it relates to the global financial system, including but not limited to a section on TNFD, biodiversity hotspots, systemic risk, the EU Taxonomy, sector-specific issues, and how to harness nature-positive activities.

Academy of Sciences Malaysia (June 2022)

This report from the Academy of Sciences Malaysia outlines on the economic value of South East Asia’s biodiversity – which is at least US$2.19 trillion per year – and highlights that the figure can rise if nations work put effective conservation measures in place.

Environmental Finance (June 2022)

An op-ed that gives a good high-level overview of the nature crisis and all the private-sector initiatives and government / intergovernmental legislation aiming to halt it.

Bloomberg (May 2022)

A panel featuring Dr Danielle Wood of the MIT Media Lab and Dr Josh Tewkesbury of the Smithsonian Institute on the basics of biodiversity, biodiversity loss, the value of measuring biodiversity, and how the private sector can tackle it.

KPMG International (April 2022)

10 things boards and executives should know about nature-related risks and opportunities.

The pressure on our natural environment has increased substantially overtime. Halting and preserving nature and its capacity to contribute to sustainable economic growth is a significant challenge, bringing with it significant risks to corporate and financial stability, but also opportunities. All businesses depend on nature and its services either directly or through their supply chains, and those businesses that are highly reliant on nature are considered ‘most at risk’ from the consequences of nature degradation and biodiversity loss. 

University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (April 2022)

Since 2019, CISL has been collaborating with financial institutions on a programme to support the integration of nature into financial systems, creating resources for practitioners and senior management.

CISL’s latest publication, Integrating Nature: The case for action on nature-related financial risks, CISL, 2022, brings together the outcomes of that programme, providing senior management with the business case for integrating nature-related risks into financial decisions by detailing:

• Why action is need
• How action can be taken
• Use cases assessing nature-related financial risks
• What is now needed to accelerate the integration of nature into finance

Sustainalytics (March 2022)

With biodiversity loss identified as one of the top three risks to business, it is quickly becoming a key topic in boardrooms around the globe. Human pressure on natural environments and ecosystems has accelerated species loss to a rate at least 100 times higher than the natural extinction rate. This unprecedented decrease in biodiversity due to human activity has both direct and indirect social and economic impacts, as over half of the world’s GDP – approximately $44 trillion – is at moderate or severe risk. Unless further biodiversity loss is prevented and biodiversity-related impacts are better managed, many business activities will soon be unsustainable.

This ebook outlines the steps companies can take to measure and manage biodiversity-related issues. Readers will discover:

• How current business activity is accelerating biodiversity loss
• The material impacts biodiversity loss has on businesses across sectors
• How companies can protect against natural capital losses and address potential biodiversity-related risks.

Mail & Guardian (March 2022)

‘We depend on nature for food and water, for our health, and also for our economic wellbeing. Every business at some level depends on resources drawn from nature, such as crops, fish, timber, fibre, or rare earth elements, or on the stability of ecosystems.

Often we only see this when those ecosystems are upset such as when over-extraction from natural water sources causes drought or unsustainable agricultural practices lead to soil degradation and ultimately to food shortages.’

Aviva Investors (February 2022)

In this interview, AIQ catches up with Tanzanian biodiversity leader and lawyer Elizabeth Maruma Mrema about the threat of biodiversity loss, the recent Kunming Declaration and missed Aichi Biodiversity Targets, as well as the role of finance in protecting nature.

Lazard Asset Management (February 2022)

‘Biodiversity, or the variety of life on earth, is declining and is projected to deteriorate faster and further if humans fail to change the status quo. Forestry, agriculture, energy extraction, fisheries, and fashion are just a few of the industries causing damage to ecosystems that we rely on and, in some cases, the damage may be irreparable. A continued loss of biodiversity could lead to environmental destabilization and, ultimately, ecological collapse. Such damage to the ecosystems we depend on to provide pollination, clean water, carbon sequestration, and even protection against infectious disease would almost certainly cause wide-reaching economic consequences for most investors.’

Asian Investor (January 2022)

Nature loss across Asia will profoundly damage economic activities that rely on natural capital, according to several recent studies. Investors need to act.

Several recent reports from global agencies have confirmed that investors’ focus on minimising the effects of climate change has come at the expense of ignoring perhaps an even greater risk – the loss of biological diversity.

World Economic Forum (January 2022)

• Two-thirds of China’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is at risk of disruption from nature loss.
• New report focuses on the economic case for safeguarding nature in China.
• Nature-positive practices, those that add value to nature, could contribute $1.9 trillion to the economy a year and 88 million jobs by 2030.
• China is well-placed to lead the transition to a new global green economy with lasting impact.

Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) (November 2021)

A report covering the basics of what Australian investors need to know about the nature crisis and the different financial risks affecting companies across different sectors of the economy.

Reuters Sustainable Business (November 2021)

David Craig of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures explains how the TNFD will provide a framework for companies to measure and account for their impacts on biodiversity for the first time.

PwC (November 2021)

TNFD Taskforce member Daniel O’Brien, Head of Sustainable Business Solutions at PwC, highlights three crucial ways in which nature-related risks can become material for businesses.

EY, Microsoft and Earth Knowledge (October 2021)

The financial sector risks inflicting significant damage on itself and companies across the world if it fails to use its “great power” to stop actions that harm the planet, a new report by EY, Microsoft and Earth Knowledge has said.

As a core part of global economies, banks, investment firms and insurers have a “great responsibility” to ensure they support activities that are “nature positive” and protect the air, land, water and animals in the Earth’s unique and delicate ecosystems.

Entitled “Waking up to Nature – the biodiversity imperative in financial services”, the report estimates that the world’s largest investment banks provided $2.6 trillion of loans and underwriting services linked to the destruction of nature in 2019 alone, and a failure to act at pace and scale to rectify this will create a “material financial risk for the financial services industry”. This will manifest in “market, credit, reputational, regulatory, supply chain, operational, employee engagement and underwriting risk”, the report states.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and WWF EU (May 2021)

Research considering public attitudes to nature loss and how they have changed over the past five years.

Reuters Events Sustainable Business (February 2021)

An insight explaining “why solving the data gap is critical to unlocking a flood of money towards a nature-positive economy.”

Global Canopy (February 2021)

An insight explaining how the Dasgupta Review is an important call for financial institutions to use their leverage to tackle the escalating nature crisis.

Reuters Events Sustainable Business (January 2021)

An op-ed outlining how the increased attention to biodiversity needs to be followed up by finance action on nature.

Natural Capital Finance Alliance with UN WCMC (January 2021)

An insight outlining the increasing attention being paid to biodiversity by governments and businesses.

World Economic Forum (January 2021)

The annual Global Risks Report analysing the biggest risks to business and the global economy in 2021. It states that some of the probable risks in the next ten years are extreme weather, climate action failure, and social insecurity, all of which are expected to get worse.

The Guardian (October 2020)

A news article on the Bankrolling Extinction report which shows the flows of finance to sectors with high impacts on nature, and how the banks have little understanding to or indifference of the implications.

WWF and Swiss Re (June 2020)

In this joint report, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Swiss Re Institute are collaborating to focus on the concept of spatial finance in understanding threats to World Heritage Sites (WHS). Spatial finance uses geospatial observational data – geographical information systems (GIS) – combined with machine learning to assess the risks and impact of financing and re/insurance decisions. Conclusions can be incorporated into sustainable financing and re/insurance frameworks.

The spatial finance approach can be used to assess both the long-term impacts of economic activity and short-term disaster risk management, such as oil spills.

UN PRI (October 2020)

A blog highlighting the early action investors are taking on biodiversity, and how this action can be scaled up.

Swiss Re (September 2020)

“The Swiss Re Institute Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (BES) Index assesses which economic sectors are most reliant on nature and evaluates the exposure each country has to BES decline.”

WWF (September 2020)

A film that explores the risks of inaction, the impact of investing-as-usual, and the role the finance sector can play in powering a sustainable future.

Global Trade Analysis Project, Natural Capital Project, WWF (February 2020)

A study using cutting-edge models to investigate the global economic impacts of natural capital depletion. It looks at this over 140 countries, all industry sectors, and six critical ecosystem services such as water supply, and timber supply.

PwC and WWF (January 2020)

This new reports finds “that the financial risks associated with the loss of biodiversity will become increasingly important in 2020 – especially in the lead up to the United Nations Biodiversity Conference in October in Kunming (China).” It highlights the mutual reinforcement of the climate and nature crises and the challenge this poses to decision makers.