KPMG responds to COP15 agreement

Today governments reached an agreement on the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) at the Convention on Biological Diversity, COP15 in Montreal, commenting, Noeleen Cowley, Head of FS ESG at KPMG UK says:

“Cop 15 has been coined the ‘Paris moment’ for nature but the ‘Kunming-Montreal agreement’ arguably provides more clarity on what governments expect from businesses than the Paris Agreement did for climate at that stage – for the first time the private sector has really been inside the ‘nature tent’.

“A key aspect for the finance community has been around disclosures. Whilst many will be disappointed that the word ‘mandatory’ does not feature, as 330 institutions from 52 countries had called for, the text does provide an unambiguous message to firms to prepare to disclose their risks, dependencies and impacts on nature – and that stronger requirements from individual jurisdictions is coming down the line, by 2030 at the latest.

“Supporting this message, is the huge success that organisations such as the Taskforce for Nature Related Financial Disclosures, Science Based Targets Network and the Natural Capital Protocol are having.  Policy makers, standard setters and organisations are almost unanimously singing from the same hymn sheet on this, all supporting the tools, guidance and methodologies that will allow the private sector to go further, faster.  

“Away from the negotiating rooms, the TNFD was the talk of the town. The business world has really woken up to the fact that the value created by companies is inextricably linked to the natural resources on which it depends. The fast-paced and widely supported development of such initiatives has demonstrated that ‘no regret’ actions can be taken right now to allow the finance sector to better understand this link, and not only to assess how their business model depends on nature, but to seize the opportunities presented to them as this transition unfolds.”

ENDS

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About KPMG UK

KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, operates from 20 offices across the UK with approximately 15,300 partners and staff. The UK firm recorded a revenue of £2.43 billion in the year ended 30 September 2021.

KPMG is a global organization of independent professional services firms providing Audit, Legal, Tax and Advisory services. It operates in 145 countries and territories with more than 236,000 partners and employees working in member firms around the world. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such. KPMG International Limited is a private English company limited by guarantee. KPMG International Limited and its related entities do not provide services to clients.