Biodiversity pledge reaches over 100 signatories 

July 28, 2022

Biodiversity pledge secures over 100 signatories as it races to reverse nature loss by 2030 

The Finance for Biodiversity Pledge has reached 103 signatories, now representing in total over €14.7trn in assets across 19 different countries. 

The milestone had been achieved with the group securing five new signatories in Green Century, Schroders, SG 29 Haussmann, Société Générale Private Wealth Management, and Velliv Pension & Livsforsikring A/S. 

In a pledge to make biodiversity a highly visible topic, the organisation has been focusing on collaboration in order to reverse nature loss by 2030. 

The pledge is also recognised as a commitment of financial institutions to protect and restore biodiversity through their finance activities and investment with five commitments each firm must commit to take. 

These include collaborating and sharing knowledge, engaging with companies, assessing impact, setting targets, and reporting publicly on the above before 2025. 

It is hoped that by the end of next year, an additional working group on positive impact will be created. 

Running alongside the pledge is the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation which increased its members from 49 to 51. Members who have signed the pledge are able to sign up for this foundation. 

To achieve the pledge’s targets, members of the foundation have been sharing knowledge and collaborating on topics such as impact assessment, engaging with companies, public policy advocacy and target setting. 

A celebration for the new signatories be organised during the European Business and Nature Summit on 18 October 2022 in Brussels, Belgium. 

The news comes after the UN’s Biodiversity Summit confirmed it had been postponed and 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. 

In November 2021, Financial institutions and world leaders pledged to curb deforestation as part of wider efforts to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change announced at COP26.