Since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), recently renamed The Biodiversity Plan for Life on Earth, the need for public policies and initiatives focusing on biodiversity or nature-related challenges and opportunities has been steadily growing. Significant investments are needed if we want to meet global climate and biodiversity targets by 2030 and to safeguard future generations. A powerful and strategic way to advance the biodiversity agenda is to engage with the G20, which brings together upstream and downstream countries, eight out of the seventeen megadiverse countries, with economic and political power.
This year, Brazil, one of the world’s most mega diverse countries, is holding the G20 Presidency, taking over from India’s Presidency in 2023. Throughout 2024, technical meetings and ministerial conferences will take place and will culminate in the 19th G20 Summit at the end of the year on November 18 and 19, 2024, in Rio de Janeiro.
The G20’s role in promoting corporate disclosure
Corporate biodiversity disclosure plays an instrumental role in identifying nature-related risks and opportunities. It is a crucial practice for organisations to contribute to halting biodiversity degradation through transparency and good business conduct.
In the run-up to CBD COP16 later this year in Colombia, building on the economic and political power that the G20 countries have, the G20 debates represent a major occasion to highlight the impact that trade agreements and corporate disclosure rules can have on nature and biodiversity loss. This strong mandate presents a momentum to step up efforts to address the interconnected challenges of climate change, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss.
The G20 brings together important producers and megadiverse countries besides jurisdictions that represent 80% of international trade (WWF, 2022 – When Finance talks Nature, in Cooperation with Climate & Company).
With the motto “Building a fair world and a sustainable planet”, the preservation of biodiversity and zero deforestation will be important themes during Brazil’s first G20 Presidency. In this context, Brazil can play a leading role in promoting sustainable financial instruments in the G20.
The G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) has defined corporate “disclosure” as one of four main priorities in the Brazilian Presidency. Corporate Disclosure is key to enhancing transparency and to informing on the implementation of the KMGBF targets, particularly its Target 15 focusing on the involvement of finance & business-sectors to assess, disclose and reduce biodiversity-related risks and negative impacts, and its Target 19, highlighting the need to increase the financial resources from all sources to achieve the Biodiversity Plan (KMGBF).
Presenting evidence-based arguments to key policy makers relating to Sustainable Finance Instruments in the G20 represents a good opportunity to advance a shared vision of harmonised and interoperable disclosure frameworks, maintaining ambition, building trust and developing a common language across constituencies.
Enhance corporate disclosure for biodiversity protection, land use & against deforestation
Climate & Company , as a Sustainable Finance think tank, brings together key decision makers in European institutions, representatives from the financial and non-financial sector and academia. The network is united by the mission to shift investments towards preserving biodiversity and mitigating climate change, and by leveraging sustainability disclosure standards and regulations to achieve this mission.
Our project has been working with Climate & Company since 2021 in the run up to CBD COP15, and co-produced a publication entitled “A next step for biodiversity disclosure: building on the GBF and existing tools and measures”.
This fruitful collaboration bundling our common engagement for biodiversity and Climate & Company’s skills for data analysis and expertise in regulation is now intended to be pursued within the framework of Brazil’s G20 Presidency.
In our joint project, Climate & Company aims to:
- Promote sustainability disclosure standards and frameworks into G20 strategies with a special focus on biodiversity, nature and land use during Brazil’s G20 Presidency
- Collaborate with already established engagement and Working Groups (e.g. Sherpa and Financing Track) to promote sustainability disclosure standards and frameworks throughout Brazil’s G20 Presidency
Sustainable Finance for Nature & People: empowering policy makers & Engagement Groups
The Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework – EU support project’s collaboration with Climate & Company aims to create synergies between stakeholders to raise their awareness and capacity for action towards the preservation of biodiversity, specifically through the economy and finance sectors. These efforts will be concentrated in the G20: Sustainable Finance for Nature & People initiative supported by our project.
Our project has already carried out similar initiatives, notably the Resource Mobilisation webinar held in 2021, the workshop carried with Business for Nature in view of COP15, and a common publication Mandate nature-related disclosure from business and finance, or the workshop with representatives of the private sector as part of the multi-sectoral dialogues organised with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). multi-sector dialogues organised with ECLAC.
In partnership with Climate & Company, the engagement and empowerment of Brazilian policy makers and Engagement Groups within the G20 will be supported through practical technical workshops, continuous dialogues, publication of policy briefs and reports, as well as participation in high-level meetings and interventions.
“As part of their leadership within the G20, Brazil holds a key opportunity: to enhance disclosure towards nature and biodiversity, fostering a nature positive economy and a sustainable future for all. Our team is delighted to contribute to this mission in collaboration with the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework – EU support project thorough this project” notes Sofia Helena Zanella Carra, Project Coordinator Climate & Company
Acting as a broker between existing initiatives, the Sustainable Finance for Nature & People initiative will mobilise relevant partners and experts, aligning their messages and mobilising them in a synergistic manner across the different stages of the capacity-building process.
“Our project is thrilled to continue the fruitful collaboration with Climate and Company, disclosure can contribute to create the enabling conditions for sustainable businesses to thrive and be able to demonstrate their commitment and positive impact on biodiversity, while informing consumers about the inherent advantages of their products and services”, notes Hugo Rivera Mendoza, Team Leader Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework – EU Support
More information about Climate & Company here.
