Stepping Up on Biodiversity: What does the GBF mean for responsible investors?

After the agreement reached in December 2022 on the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), many questions remain to be answered about the role to be played by investors. Target 19 of the GBF establishes the need to mobilise a yearly US$200 billion per year with measures including leveraging private finance and private investments in biodiversity.

A new report ‘Stepping Up on Biodiversity: What the Kunming‑Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework means for responsible investors’ has recently been launched by UNEP FI, the PRI and the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation to provide practical guidance for investors to align their investments with the GBF goals. The report emphasizes the need to integrate biodiversity into investment decision-making, and to assess and disclose nature-related dependencies, risks, and opportunities, as well as the need to strengthen engagement with policymakers and public financial institutions to support policy developments.

The private finance sector is set to have a vital role in reversing the loss of nature and restoring ecosystems for their long-term viability, and it can begin contributing to this goal by assessing its impact and dependencies on nature, and taking steps to reduce negative financial flows. By aligning their portfolios with the goals and targets of the GBF and expediting the transition of financial flows towards sustainable and equitable practices, the financial sector can carry out its responsibility to safeguard the stability of the economy integrating biodiversity considerations into its financing and investment decisions. The report also outlines the critical role for financial institutions and investors in bridging the funding gap for nature conservation and restoration efforts.

Investments in nature restoration, conservation, and sustainable use of biodiversity are imperative to stay within liveable planetary boundaries. This Report  will help investors to understand their role and to jumpstart action manage and act upon nature-related risks and opportunities with the urgency required for us to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.