Council will advocate for robust agreements, such as the new Biodiversity Framework and the reduction of investments that encourage nature degradation
CEBDS (Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development) will be present at the next UN summit on biodiversity. The meeting, called COP15, will take place in Montreal, Canada, starts today (7) and runs until the 19th, and promises to be emblematic: the new Global Framework for Biodiversity (GBF) will be on the agenda, a document that will define goals, parameters and standards to reduce damage to nature caused by human activity. For experts, the text should be equal in importance to the Paris Agreement – which establishes global objectives to combat climate change.
The Brazilian production sector knows that it is possible to preserve and produce, which is why it advocates for the conservation of nature. In fact, the loss of biodiversity is considered by the World Economic Forum to be the third main global risk. After all, more than half of the world's economic production (US$44 trillion per year) is moderately or highly dependent on it, which poses clear risks to the generation of jobs and income. Furthermore, the protection of nature is also at the heart of solutions to combat climate change.
At the meeting, CEBDS will advocate for directing investments towards solutions that generate a positive impact on nature and encouraging innovative projects. To help companies play a leading role in protecting and managing ecosystems, the Council will launch an important program: the Action Platform for Nature. This is a pioneering movement by the private sector to understand, protect and manage its dependencies and impacts on biodiversity through the collective implementation of new international frameworks, targets and legislation. The platform will be launched in partnership with the WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development), the TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) and the Nature Climate Alliance.
The Council will also launch a new version of the largest inventory of corporate actions for conservation in Brazil at the UN meeting: the Brazilian Business Commitment for Biodiversity. Those in Montreal will also be able to attend “Brazilian Day: Biodiversity is our nature,” an event that will be held on the 9th in partnership with WWF and TNC (The Nature Conservancy). It will bring together experts from various fields to discuss the country’s role in defending biodiversity, its challenges and opportunities.
The productive sector also wants to create clear goals and comparable parameters to reduce the impact of business on nature in the coming years. It also wants to support the redirection of billion-dollar financing that currently has an impact on the planet's biodiversity towards actions that value nature.
“The current global scenario of predatory exploitation puts at risk activities such as food production, research into new medicines and cosmetics, the replenishment of drinking water sources, scientific and genetic innovation and the supply of raw materials for commercial and industrial activities,” says Henrique Luz, technical manager at CEBDS.
The version of the Biodiversity Framework that will be evaluated includes at least 12 business-related targets. One of them, target 15, requires companies to assess and report their impacts on biodiversity and reduce their negative effects by at least half.
Target 18 aims to redirect, repurpose, reform or eliminate incentives that are harmful to biodiversity, amounting to at least US$500 billion per year, including all the most harmful subsidies, and ensure that economic and regulatory incentives are positive or neutral for biodiversity. In practice, this means using new financing money for projects that, instead of destroying nature, can conserve it.
“The proposals from the business sector will encourage businesses to generate positive impacts on nature. By collaborating in the definition of goals and metrics for operations and prioritizing investments in sustainable solutions, companies want to promote, in the short term, a new development model, based on a green economy, which generates jobs and income in a sustainable way”, says Henrique Luz.
CEBDS AT COP
CEBDS will be represented at COP 15 by its executive director, Ricardo Mastroti, and technical manager Henrique Luz, who will participate in the High Level Segment discussions, alongside ministers and negotiators. The duo will also broadcast daily summaries of the main topics discussed during COP 15, which can be followed on the CEBDS channel at youtube.
