The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is holding its 17th Conference of the Parties (COP) event this month. In the lead-up to the CBD COP 17 the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) published its Global Report on Collective Progress in the Implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. That report identified serious flaws in the global approach to preserving biodiversity. It appears that the world’s governments are lagging on biodiversity:
“Two distinct gaps in progress are evident. First, the collective scope and planned actions associated with the national targets set by Parties do not yet fully reflect the scope and level of ambition of the global targets of the Framework: specifically, not all of the elements of the 23 targets are adequately addressed, while the levels of quantitative commitments are below those of the global targets.
Second, the pace of advances in implementation of actions to achieve the 2030 targets is not sufficient across the Framework. In particular, progress is: uneven among the targets, with those addressing drivers of biodiversity loss lagging behind significantly; uneven across different ecosystems, with marine, coastal and inland water ecosystems consistently showing gaps in coverage; and weak on the crosscutting issues and considerations for the implementation of the Framework.”
Biodiversity loss is a direct product of climate change, pollution, and environmental degradation. Its impacts are serious and often irreversible as species go extinct and food chains collapse. The global economy depends on nature, as do our daily lives. The world cannot survive on monocultures.
Before ESG scaled back in 2024, many thought nature-related risk reporting was the next big thing. While the UNEP is working to develop this framework, they are struggling to get global buy-in. Governments are not setting strong enough standards or allocating proper resources and are ultimately lagging on biodiversity. While this is certainly a dour note, there is growth in the biodiversity space. As today’s next blog discusses in greater depth, the number of organizations making TNFD commitments is growing.
Our members can learn more about biodiversity here.
