Biodiversity COP15: Key Takeaways for Companies

Below is an excerpt from ISS Corporate Solution’s recently released paper “Biodiversity COP15: Key Takeaways for Companies”. The full paper is available for download from the ISS Corporate Solutions (ICS) online library.

Biodiversity is an increasingly important topic for investors and corporations alike. The 15^th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) took place in two parts, one held virtually and in Kunming, China on October 11 to 15 and the other from December 7 to 19 in Montreal, Canada. Part 2 focused on topics including equitable access to resources, unsustainable agricultural practices, the rights of indigenous peoples, and the role of financial flows in the protection of biodiversity, all culminating in the development of a Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. Despite being mired in legal delays and shadowed by the disappointing progress toward the earlier Aichi Biodiversity Targets, COP15 achieved a major success with the creation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which will inform country-level actions for the coming years and have significant implications for how business is done around the world.

The proceedings at 2022’s Biodiversity COP15 were closely watched by Institutional Shareholder Services, and the following reports have been prepared by the ISS ESG & ISS Corporate Solutions business units:

• Key Takeaways for Companies
• Key Takeaways for Investors

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Finalization of a New Global Biodiversity Framework
   • Governments agree to sign a new 10-year Global Biodiversity Framework, with four goals and 23 targets.
   • Target 15 of the Framework calls for an increased emphasis on disclosure of nature-related risks, dependencies, and impacts for corporate issuers.
   • Access to financial resources for developing countries. Target of US$20 billion by 2025 and US$30 billion by 2030.
2. Progress Toward Reporting Frameworks
   •  Increased support for adopting the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures as the standard reporting framework.
   •  New revision of the Global Reporting Initiative’s Biodiversity standard, with ongoing public comment period.
3. International Collaboration
   •  Institutional investors led the formation of Nature Action 100, intended to drive biodiversity protection and reverse impacts.