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Ian Bremmer: Biodiversity loss might break the system and businesses aren’t ready
When Ian Bremmer turned 50 in 2019, he was shocked to know there was less than half the biodiversity left on the planet than when he was born.
That's depressing, but hopefully it'll soon have a snapback effect on humans and the economy, Eurasia Group's president says during "Time for nature: Turning biodiversity risk into opportunity," a livestream conversation hosted by GZERO in partnership with Suntory.
Businesses, he adds, will suffer if biodiversity loss is not reversed: "Production costs are going to increase. Profitability is going to drop. Prices are going to have to go up for end consumers. Inflation is going to go up."
What's more, companies face three types of risks — physical, transition, and systemic — if there's a six mass extinction. The last is the most worrisome because the entire system might actually break down.
Learn more about this GZERO Media live discussion: https://www.gzeromedia.com/sustainability
Why investors need to support biodiversity
For years, investors have been largely absent from nature financing. But now you have opportunities across all asset classes.
"If we don't start mobilizing private capital, we're going to have an issue" with biodiversity, Ingrid Kukuljan, head of Impact & Sustainable Investing at Federated Hermes, says during "Time for nature: Turning biodiversity risk into opportunity," a livestream conversation hosted by GZERO in partnership with Suntory.
So, where are the opportunities?
First, Kukuljan explains, public markets, where "some of the biggest culprits to biodiversity loss are to be found." Second, engaging companies that don't normally take biodiversity into account for decision-making.
Practical climate solutions and big corporations
Retailers like Walmart derive the bulk of their sales from products that ultimately originate in nature. That means they have a stake in reversing the course of biodiversity loss.
"The business community has woken up and taken notice of this," Kathleen McLaughlin, Walmart's executive VP and chief sustainability officer, says "Time for nature: Turning biodiversity risk into opportunity," a livestream conversation hosted by GZERO in partnership with Suntory.
As a result, Walmart is doing its part by engaging with its suppliers on biodiversity protection. It's the only way, she adds, to "protect, restore, and better manage 50 million acres of land and a million square miles of ocean" where the company indirectly sources raw materials for its products.
McLaughlin says that Walmart is embracing nature-positive to support both the livelihoods of producers and still provide affordable products to consumers.
Learn more about this GZERO Media live discussion: https://www.gzeromedia.com/sustainability
How do financial disclosures help protect biodiversity?
The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures doesn't have a sexy name. But it is instrumental in helping businesses know their impact on biodiversity so they can do better.
"What we are providing to help businesses and financial institutions is developing a risk management and disclosure framework for nature-related risks," TNFD technical director Emily McKenzie says during "Time for nature: Turning biodiversity risk into opportunity," a livestream conversation hosted by GZERO in partnership with Suntory.
McKenzie says that the impetus for TNFD is all coming from the market. Driven by risks, investors want to take action.
"We're moving rapidly."
Learn more about this GZERO Media live discussion: https://www.gzeromedia.com/sustainability
How measuring nature at the DNA level unlocks financial growth
Katie Critchlow is CEO of NatureMetrics, a company that, well, measures nature. But how?
"We use eDNA; that's all the DNA that's left behind in the environment by every species because every species in the world contains DNA," she explains during the livestream discussion "Time for nature: Turning biodiversity risk into opportunity," hosted by GZERO in partnership with Suntory.
But the animals and plants you see, Critchlow points out, are only a tiny fraction of total life on earth. There's a lot of very small stuff too.
Those microbes, fungi, and nematodes are what matter most to business risk because they "drive the nutrient cycles and the carbon cycles and basically keep us all alive."
Learn more about this GZERO Media live discussion: https://www.gzeromedia.com/sustainability
How to stop greenwashing on biodiversity investments
Investors are starting to pay attention to biodiversity. But how can we be sure that interest doesn't result in greenwashing?
With transparency and rigorous information sources, FNZ Group sustainability chief Vian Sharif says during "Time for nature: Turning biodiversity risk into opportunity," a livestream conversation hosted by GZERO in partnership with Suntory.
Also, it's early days for something very complex to measure and report.
"We're in a very nascent phase right now," says Sharif. "This is right at the start of the journey."
Learn more about this GZERO Media live discussion: https://www.gzeromedia.com/sustainability
3 ways mining companies can help protect biodiversity
You'd think the best thing an extractive industry like mining can do for biodiversity would be to go out of business. Think again, says International Council on Mining and Metals CEO Rohitesh “Ro” Dhawan.
He shares three ways mining can have a positive impact on reversing the course of nature's destruction during "Time for nature: Turning biodiversity risk into opportunity," a livestream conversation hosted by GZERO in partnership with Suntory.
First, conservation. Second, restoration. And third, disclosure of lots of data.
Once mining firms "understand what species there are in the area, they change their mining plan to make sure it doesn't disturb those species," Dhawan says.
Learn more about this GZERO Media live discussion: https://www.gzeromedia.com/sustainability
- Biodiversity loss: Is nature-positive the new net zero? ›
- COP15 biodiversity wish list for the private sector ›
- Reversing biodiversity loss by 2030: "We don't have a choice," says Magali Anderson ›
- "We don't have any right to destroy nature" — Suntory CEO Tak Niinami ›
- How do financial disclosures help protect biodiversity? - GZERO Media ›
- US-Canada can and will extract critical minerals sustainably, says top US diplomat - GZERO Media ›
Will the DOJ hold Trump responsible for Jan. 6?
Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.
Now that Congress recommends charges against Trump, will the DOJ take action?
Increasingly, the answer appears to be yes, especially now that the attorney general has a special counsel on the case, and he has recused himself, that makes it a lot easier to proceed with charges. This is unprecedented territory. We've never seen a Congress actually refer criminal charges of a former president before. But of course, former President Trump was also pretty unique historically for the United States. Either way, he's considerably damaged much more so than he was after January 6th. You remember then Kevin McCarthy went down and was kissing the ring in Mar-a-Lago within a few days, that's not happening this time around. So it's a much bigger hole for him to dig himself out of, even though he's ostensibly running for the presidency already, we don't see much of that yet.
With Putin making a rare visit to Belarus, is further escalation ahead in the Ukraine war?
Yes, though I'd be very surprised if it's coming from Belarus. In fact, I expect that the big new counteroffensive is not coming from the Russians, but rather the Ukrainians, as soon as the ground is hard enough to easily get tanks through and the like. Which would probably be an effort to either take a Melitopol, Mariupol, one of those areas back that would sever the land bridge between Russia and Crimea. That is what it appears the Ukrainians are trying to do, and if they were to make it all the way down to the coast, then potentially Crimea is within HIMARS's range. That would be quite a significant escalation in terms of Ukraine's position and would be deeply concerning for Putin and for Russia. Watch this space over the coming weeks.
A "Paris Agreement for nature." More talk or are the biodiversity targets set at COP15 achievable?
They are achievable. It's interesting. A week ago, all the developing countries basically walked out to show they were angry that the West wasn't moving, the wealthy countries weren't moving in favor of progress at these talks. These are biodiversity talks that's very different from carbon emission talks. The big announcement is a commitment by everyone attending, which is pretty much the world, that 30% of the world's nature will be protected by 2030. It's a start. We're in a hole there as well, especially given that over half of the animal life on the planet in the last 50 years has already gone away. One of the most depressing statistics I've ever read. But it's nice to see that the world recognizes this and is starting to turn all of that around. It's taking too long. It's a little too late. But nonetheless, it is a hell of a lot better than not doing it at all.