Strategic support and market engagement

Montreal, 14 December 2022: TNFD: Strategic support and market engagement for nature-related risk management and reporting gains momentum at COP-15

The TNFD welcomes the significant, multi-year funding commitment announced by the Government of Germany today at the CBD COP15 meeting in Montreal.  This funding, 29m euro over 6 years, will underpin the TNFD’s ongoing framework development and market engagement activities with its key knowledge and implementation partners.  Longer term, it will support market skills and capability building initiatives to enable voluntary market adoption in the years to come.

The German Government will join the TNFD’s other funding partners and founding organisations on its Stewardship Council.

Elizabeth Mrema, Co-Chair of the TNFD and Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) Secretariat, said:

“We are delighted that the Government of Germany has followed through on its strong statement of support for TNFD earlier this year as G7 President to provide long-term strategic funding for TNFD development and adoption.  The TNFD framework now under development is aligned with the Global Biodiversity Framework Target 15 expected to be finalised this week at COP15.  Together, they set the stage for action by business and finance to tackle nature loss and make their businesses and financial portfolios more resilient to nature-related risks in the process.  This strategic support from Germany will play a critical role over the years to come to build market awareness, skills and organisational capabilities to move forward.”

Separately today, during his remarks at the CBD COP-15 Finance Day, Emmanuel Faber, Chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) signalled the intention of the ISSB to draw on the TNFD’s nature-related risk management and disclosure approach as it emerge alongside the development of the ISSB’s work to develop a global baseline for sustainability reporting.  

David Craig, Co-Chair of the TNFD, said:

“The ISSB team has been a valued knowledge partner of the TNFD since the inception of our work in November 2021.  We look forward to continuing to coordinate our respective efforts as market and regulatory interest in better, more integrated sustainability related risk management and reporting practices continues to build.  It is clear from both the COP27 on climate in Egypt last month and the incredible level of business and finance engagement in nature and biodiversity at COP15 in Montreal this week, that we need to take effective and integrated action on climate and nature together. The TNFD is fully committed to supporting the development of an integrated global baseline for sustainability reporting by the ISBB and working together on the shared challenge of building market skills and capabilities over the years to come”.

Over the course of COP-15, a series of nature metrics labs and other briefings convened by the TNFD to explain the emerging approach, solicit feedback and showcase the latest in technology and data tools has attracted over 1000 participants in person and online.  The next update to the TNFD draft framework is due in March 2023 with final recommendations to be published in September next year.