N4C Weekly Briefing: Oct. 12-18, 2022

Animal populations experience average decline of almost 70% since 1970, report reveals

BusinessGreen, James Murray, 13 October

BusinessGreen shares the findings of a new WWF and Zoological Society of London report that finds Earth’s wildlife populations have plunged by an average of 69% in just under 50 years. Many scientists believe we are living through the sixth mass extinction – the largest loss of life on Earth since the time of the dinosaurs – and that it is being driven by humans. The report’s 89 authors are urging world leaders to reach an ambitious agreement at the CoP15 biodiversity summit in Canada this December and to slash carbon emissions to limit global heating to below 1.5°C this decade to halt the rampant destruction of nature. Latin America and the Caribbean region – including the Amazon – has seen the steepest decline in average wildlife population size, often accelerated by deforestation. The New York Times, Afrik21, NPR, Axios, Euractiv, The Guardian, and France24 all cover the report.?

The Hill shares a commentary from Will Gartshore, WWF senior director for policy and government affairs, on what to do about nature's decline.

BusinessGreen covers the trillions of dollars of risk financial institutions face if they do not solve the crisis of nature's decline. Reuters reports that Forests & Finance analysis shows finance to companies in the agriculture, forestry and land use sectors most responsible for deforestation in 2021 rose over 60% to $47 billion between 2020 and 2021.

Carbon offsets allow some companies to hide poor performance on cutting own emissions, government advisers say

Sky News, Hannah Thomas-Peter, 13 October

Sky News covers the findings of a report from the UK's independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) that finds, "businesses are increasingly turning to voluntary carbon offsetting as they aim to reach Net Zero. But recent market growth is premature." The CCC report says that current shortcomings can be overcome with better governance and guidance to ensure high-integrity carbon credits are purchased and internal emission reductions are achieved first in market-participating businesses. Reuters and BusinessGreen both cover the report.

Bloomberg shares that Gabon’s environment minister announced the country’s carbon credits may fetch $35 a token with the African country planning the release of a record 90 million credits onto the voluntary carbon market as it seeks ways to finance the conservation of its carbon-absorbing forests. Carbon Pulse reports that millions of Verra REDD credits could jump in price if they retroactively add Climate, Community and Biodiversity co-benefits. Carbon Pulse covers the news that sovereign REDD forestry conservation platform REDD.plus has lost its connection with one of the largest marketplaces in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) after three years of partnership over a mismatch and concerns from stakeholders.. Carbon Pulse shares that the year in which an offset registry issues a nature-based VER is becoming less important for some carbon credit buyers. Bloomberg covers the findings of a new report from Carbon Market Watch that state Europe’s leading airlines are misleading consumers with claims that they can fly guilt-free by using carbon offsets to neutralize the environmental impact of air travel.

BNP, Nonprofits Seek Wider Disclosure of Nature-Related Impact

Bloomberg Law, Frances Schwartzkopff, 12 October

Bloomberg Law reports that 48 civil society organizations and networks – whose members include over 220 organizations on six continents – have publicly written to the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) to express their “profound concern” with its work. The letter raises various concerns including TNFD’s lack of required report on: businesses impacts, such as risks or harms to nature and people, complaints about its environmental practices or lobbying against new environmental laws, or even disclosure where a business operates, sources from or finances. The letter also calls out the TNFD’s opaque decision-making processes and that it is failing to value the expertise of rights holders.??

UN: Conservation shouldn’t cost Indigenous lives

Grist, Joseph Lee, 13 October

Grist shares the findings of a new report from the United Nations General Assembly’s Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Committee that finds without major changes to global conservation models more violence directed at Indigenous communities will continue. According to the report, protected areas are often created without the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples in violation of international mandates and principles. Once established, Indigenous communities often have limited access to their ancestral lands or face forced evictions and violence from eco-guards. The Special Rapporteur’s report points out that the expulsion of Indigenous peoples violates human rights and limits the efficacy of protected areas since Indigenous land management practices have repeatedly been found to be some of the best protections for the environment.?

Your next corporate job: Protecting biodiversity

GreenBiz, Joel Makower, 17 October

GreenBiz dives into the growth of corporate roles focused on preserving and regenerating nature and biodiversity. There appears to be a new nexus of action for corporate sustainability professionals, at the intersection of natural capital, supply chains, operations, finance and, of course, the climate crisis. This also risks becoming a new nexus of criticism about corporate sustainability commitments.

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Nature-Based Solutions Initiative shares their new paper Biodiversity outcomes of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation: Characterising the evidence base to improve understanding of the ecosystem health outcomes of nature-based interventions for climate change adaptation.

Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), releases a new report presenting the state of play of financial institutions and their expectations towards TNFD standards, reviewing the current level of integration of nature-related risk assessment and reporting in the decision-making processes of selected institutions.

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