Outcome of a historic conference for biodiversity

By Diane Roissard, Biodiversity Officer for LBP AM, who attended COP-15 in Montreal

After two weeks of negotiations, the countries taking part in the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) reached a landmark agreement dubbed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework[1]. A summit co-opting members of civil society, academics, public and private-sector institutions, the COP-15 Biodiversity Conference in Montreal will go down in history for the record-setting mobilisation of the private sector, and especially financial institutions. 150 of these institutions, including LBP AM (together managing more than $24 trillion), offered their support via a statement[2] published on 13 December 2022.

Alongside the negotiations on the content of the agreement, COP15 also represented an opportunity for all participants to share their knowledge of complementary topics and to form coalitions and plans for the future. One such plan was to launch Nature Action 100, a campaign providing the financial sector with a prime opportunity to take action by collectively working with corporations as they navigate the path to change. LBP AM has joined this initiative and reaffirmed the commitments set out in its biodiversity policy published at the start of COP15.

COP15 highlight: Emmanuel Faber's announcement that topics relating to biodiversity and the just transition would be included in the standards of the ISSB[3]. Coupled with the progress achieved by the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD) and Science-Based Targets for Nature (SBTn), the adoption of Target 15 – formalising the need for large corporates and multinationals to report on their risks, dependencies and impacts on biodiversity – holds great promise for success. Through their dialogue with businesses, investors will have a decisive role to play in achieving this target.

France is already well on its way to achieving Target 14 thanks to Article 29 of the Energy-Climate Act, a highly-anticipated article calling, among other things, for biodiversity to be incorporated in policies and regulations at all levels of government and in all sectors, while gradually aligning all public- and private-sector activities, and relevant tax and financial flows, with the goals and objectives of the Framework.

Consecrating 30% of lands and oceans as protected zones and restoring 30% of deteriorated ecosystems by 2030, cutting pollution stemming from the use of pesticides by 50%, reducing grants and investments in favour of environmentally unfriendly activities by $500 billion... all ambitious goals that the financial sector must work towards by changing its practices. The opportunities generated by such change for corporations, society and the environment alike have been made abundantly clear: implementing more responsible farming practices, shifting models of production and consumption towards a more circular economy, and establishing infrastructures to pave the way for this ecological transition, just to name a few.

Structured accordingly, the Framework serves as a compass for financial institutions that will guide not only the regulations they will be required to follow, but also the initiatives they will be called upon to undertake. Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, put it this way: “We cannot make the mistake of thinking time is on our side.” The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework heralds the time for action and LBP AM is ready to do its part, with engagement and conviction.



[1] The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is available here.
[2] The COP15 Statement from the Financial Sector is available here.
[3] The ISSB article on the concept of sustainability is available here.