Biodiversity COP further postponed

July 2, 2022

After a series of delays, COP15 on Biodiversity has been further postponed this week.

After more than two years of delays, the UN's Biodiversity Summit is back on the international agenda. Originally planned to take place in Kunming, China, the event will now be held from 5th to 17th December in Montreal, Canada. The change sparked hope for many who feared progress was coming to a halt.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused much of the delays, with the original event intended to be held in October 2020. After an interim round of negotiations this week in Nairobi, the UN convention on biological diversity confirmed that the conference would be moved to Montreal. China will remain the host of COP15 despite the relocation, retaining the responsibility for organising the event, working in coordination with the Canadian government.

Some progress has been made outside of the UN convention on biological diversity, with the UK Treasury's 2021 'Dasgupta Report' establishing a landmark connection between finance and biodiversity. The report's findings are expected to feed significantly into the proceedings of COP15.

However, the UK has also shown signs of fading interest. Environment Minister George Eustice has stated his doubts over the attendance of the Prime Minister to COP15 and has cut funding to a number of projects aimed at preserving or improving biodiversity.

Read Minerva's previous coverage on biodiversity & finance

https://www.old.manifest.co.uk/biodiversity-to-the-fore-as-billions-pledged-to-fight-deforestation/

https://www.old.manifest.co.uk/standard-setters-turn-to-biodiversity-financial-disclosures/

Biodiversity also continues to move to the forefront of investor priorities. This week, the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures published the second version of its prototype risk management and opportunity disclosure framework. It will not be long before investors have access to a framework of measurable items that will help them be better stewards of their impact on biodiversity.

Major issues remain, such as lack of reliable data, and COP15's further delay will certainly slow progress on resolving these issues. However, some asset owners and managers are already prepared to take the first steps towards considering biodiversity in their investments.

Minerva can help investors integrate biodiversity across the full range of stewardship activities from portfolio benchmarking through to shareholder voting and reporting. To find out more about how Minerva can help, watch our full briefing on biodiversity below, or say hello@Minerva.info.