Politico — Op Ed

September 21, 2022
Hansjörg Wyss is a Swiss businessman and philanthropist, and the co-owner of Chelsea FC.

Solving the crisis facing nature is daunting. Over the next few months, we will see whether governments are truly up to the task.

I, for one, am optimistic that we will meet the challenge, but leaders must actually commit to accelerating the pace of conservation this year and invest significant and meaningful public resources. Promises alone can’t save nature — it’s time for governments to take action.

Inspired by the wonders of nature — and motivated by the fear of losing the wild places I love — I’ve pledged a significant portion of my fortune to protect at least 30 percent of the world’s land and oceans by 2030.

This commitment is a promise to future generations that I’m going to do everything I can to leave them a world that’s as alive and glorious as the one I was born into.

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UN Environmental Programme

September 7, 2022
The extent to which our global economy and financial system can flourish is fundamentally underpinned by the state of nature. However, our natural world continues to be rapidly and dangerously eroded. WWF and 90 civil society partners have urged central banks and financial supervisors to manage climate and biodiversity related financial risks as part of their primary mandates. Their call for action emphasizes how losses to nature and biodiversity pose material risks to the financial systemand includes demands for consistent, market-wide risk identification and disclosure and also for promoting the enabling environment for new financial opportunities. Jessica Smith from UNEP FI and Thomas Viegas from the Bank of England (Manager, Market Intelligence and Analysis) explain why they welcome this development and why nature has reached a tipping point where it’s no longer about ‘if’ we act to mitigate nature-risk but ‘how’ and ‘where’.

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Yale Environment 360

April 12, 2022
The Biden administration has launched a $1 billion program to advance its goal of conserving 30 percent of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030.

The program, called the America the Beautiful Challenge, will serve as a “one-stop shop” for states, tribes, territories, non-governmental organizations, and others to apply for numerous grants for conservation and restoration projects, the administration said. It is backed by an initial $440 million in federal funds over five years — the bulk of which comes from the bipartisan infrastructure law that Congress passed last year — and aims to draw private and philanthropic contributions to reach the $1 billion mark.

Early in his tenure, President Joe Biden set a national goal of protecting 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030 in order to combat climate change and biodiversity loss. And last May, the administration published a report outlining its vision for a 10-year “locally led” effort to conserve and restore lands and waters, slash planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions and address inequalities in who has access to nature and the outdoors.

The new program “will help mobilize new investments in locally led, voluntary conservation and restoration projects across the country, while making it easier for communities to access these resources,” Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said in a statement.

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Mail & Guardian

April 4, 2022
Can humanity curb spending that harms the world’s biodiversity and instead focus funding on protecting it? That question is at the heart of negotiations in Geneva, which will set the stage for a crucial United Nations COP15 biodiversity summit in China later this year. 

Almost 200 countries are to adopt a global framework to safeguard nature by mid-century from the destruction wrought by humanity, with a key milestone of 30% protected by 2030.

These ambitions will only be met with a new approach to biodiversity funding and a rethink of the huge sums spent on subsidies harmful to nature such as fossil fuels, agriculture and fishing, according to observers. This can often result in environmental destruction and encourage unsustainable levels of production and consumption.

The exact figure that the world spends on these harmful subsidies is debated, although the group Business for Nature estimates that it could be as much as $1.8-trillion every year, or 2% of global GDP. 

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OMFIF

January 18, 2022

Looking ahead in 2022, we can be sure that the sustainability themes of last year will continue to gain prominence in the discussions surrounding the role of the finance sector. Yet after a year of pledges, 2022 must be a year of action.

In particular, there are growing expectations for financial institutions to assess and improve their impact on systemic issues such as climate change and social justice, with regulators watching closely to ensure they are walking the walk. The sector is expected to consider how capital allocation impacts the transition, whether providing funding to new climate solutions or withdrawing capital from harmful activities.

Furthermore, pressure is mounting on investors to responsibly steward the assets they invest in. This means not just factoring environmental, social and governance issues into investment decisions, but engaging with investees to support and drive them towards a more sustainable footing. Advocacy with policy-makers is also key in shaping a system that operates more effectively in the interests of end-investors, society and the environment.

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World Economic Forum

December 2, 2021
The conservation movement, since its origins in the 19th century, has primarily relied on public funding and philanthropic contributions to achieve its ends. The Global Canopy Programme estimates that the total annual expenditure on conservation to date has been $50 billion, of which more than 80% was from governmental and philanthropic sources. Ecosystem Marketplace similarly estimates the annual flows of private investment dollars into conservation in the low billions of dollars, with the bulk of these funds going to sustainable food and fibre rather than habitat conservation.

In November 2021 at COP26, a collective $12 billion for forest-related climate finance between 2021-2025 was announced with the support of 11 nations. Yet, all these expenditures lag significantly behind the annual expenditures needed to preserve the planet’s biodiversity, estimated by Credit Suisse, McKinsey & Co and the World Wildlife Fund to be between $300 and $400 billion. Without private investment dollars, this shortfall is likely to persist indefinitely.

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Yahoo!

November 6, 2021
Climate change and biodiversity loss are intrinsically connected, which is why a coordinated approach to tackle them both is essential. Nature-based solutions, such as conserving carbon-rich natural areas and restoring wetlands, can help countries tackle both these challenges.

To address these interconnected crises, Canada will allocate at least 20 percent of its $5.3 billion climate finance commitment to nature-based climate solutions with biodiversity co–benefits in developing countries over the next five years. This represents more than CA$1 billion. Earlier this week, the Prime Minister announced at COP26 that Canada would provide $15 million in support for the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance and the Global Fund for Coral Reefs. This funding will help developing countries build domestic capacity to take climate action, build resilience, and advance adaptation efforts while also increasing biodiversity.

As part of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People and the Global Ocean Alliance, Canada is leading the way to build support for an international target to protect 30 percent of our lands and oceans by 2030.

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Ford Foundation

November 1, 2021
The UK, Norway, Germany, the US, and the Netherlands, in partnership with 17 funders, pledged today to invest US$1.7 billion to help Indigenous and local communities protect the biodiverse tropical forests that are vital to protecting the planet from climate change, biodiversity loss, and pandemic risk, according to an announcement made today at a high-level World Leaders Summit at COP26.

“We are demonstrating our commitment today by announcing an initial, collective pledge of $1.7 billion of financing, from 2021 to 2025, to support the advancement of Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ forest tenure rights and greater recognition and rewards for their role as guardians of forests and nature,” says a statement released today by the donors. “We call on other donors to significantly increase their support to this important agenda.”

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Bloomberg

November 1, 2021
One hundred countries, representing 85% of the world’s forests, have given themselves nine years to halt and reverse deforestation, in a major new commitment at global climate change talks on Tuesday.

Brazil, Russia, Canada, Colombia and Indonesia will be among the nations committing to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 at the third day of COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, in an initiative spearheaded by the conference host, the U.K.

The inclusion of Brazil, home to the world’s largest tropical rainforest, is crucial to the initiative and comes amid a turnaround in the country’s ambitions to reduce emissions and tackle deforestation. Across the world as a whole, an area of forest the size of 27 soccer pitches is lost every minute, according to the U.K.

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World Economic Forum

May 27, 2021
Unsustainable economic growth has had devastating consequences for ecosystems that are under threat from climate change, species extinction and water insecurity. And now it's time for a rethink of our relationship with nature.

Approximately $133 billion is invested annually in nature-based solutions (Nbs), according to a new report - State of Finance for Nature: Tripling investments in nature-based solutions by 2030 - from the United Nations and World Economic Forum.

Domestic government bodies are responsible for the largest proportion of today’s Nbs – $113 billion – aimed at protecting biodiversity and landscapes, and conducting activities like sustainable forestry. The private sector contributes a further $18 billion to fund sustainable supply chains and environmental offsets.

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Campaign for Nature

November 11, 2020
This week, leaders of 450 public development banks representing 10% of total global investment will gather to discuss the role public finance can play in driving sustainable development that benefits people and the planet. 

The Finance in Common Summit will underscore the role nature-positive public finance can play in establishing a healthy environment, critical to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Climate Agreement targets and the new, ambitious framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity. Central to this framework is a target to protect at least 30% of the world’s land and ocean by 2030. 

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