COPs & Dodgers! Business leadership steps up

The outcomes of this year’s environmental COPs, or Conferences of Parties, have been largely disappointing for anyone keen to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 – the global goal. While there were a few stand out achievements, such as strengthening the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities at the Biodiversity COP16, and a last-minute financial package at the Climate COP29, both events lacked the necessary commitment, urgency and ambition.

“Too little too late”

Of the 196 countries that signed up to the UN Biodiversity Plan – the international treaty that aims to conserve biodiversity and ensure its sustainable use – 80% failed to submit their plans to preserve nature ahead of the global summit. Not much more has happened since the end of the summit either, with 40% still to submit their top-level national biodiversity targets and 78% behind schedule on their National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs) which support the implementation of the targets. National governments don’t seem to be following through on their commitments to the Climate Paris Accord either. Of the 195 signatories to the international agreement to reduce carbon emissions, leaders of the the world’s 13 top polluting countries were noticeably absent from COP29.

Despite Action 10 of the UN’s Pact for the Future (September 2024) – to accelerate efforts to protect, restore and conserve the natural environment – many global governments seem largely non-committal about lessening these global crises that are robbing their citizens of future resilience.

Interconnections between nature and climate

What was widely reported from both of the COPs was the recognition that climate change and biodiversity loss are interconnected, that they mutually reinforce each other, and that they must therefore be tackled together. What is bewildering about recent inter-governmental statements on this topic is that this connection was understood 32 years ago at the Rio Earth Summit, when world leaders established the two international agreements to address global environmental concern! Now we must dismantle these silos to see the big picture.

The role of business

Encouragingly, however, both COP16 and COP29 did see a swell in private sector engagement. This was particularly apparent at COP16, with numbers of business representatives trebling since the last COP15 in 2022. Businesses are increasingly being obligated to measure, monitor and disclose their environmental impacts (GHG emissions and damage to nature), so no doubt these requirements are driving those increases. But I think there is much more to it than that. Unlike the governments, businesses are really thinking about their future resilience. Recognising that business operation, growth and resilience is reliant on healthy functioning ecosystems and biodiveristy, they are making the decisions that matter in the long term.

Thanks to a call to action by business leaders attending COP16, 18 countries – led by Colombia and Mexico – formed a Mainstreaming Champions Group to embed the targets and goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework within and across all sectors of the economy. Parties also agreed on the need to share best practice and foster sector-specific communities of practice. This is recognised as a positive step towards ensuring the involvement of non-state actors, including business and finance, in the meeting of the UN Biodiversity Plan targets.

Travel & Tourism provides an example

Travel & Tourism’s representation at CBD COP16 was the highest to date, and (thanks in part to ANIMONDIAL’s efforts) tourism’s potential as a force for good was the focus of events hosted by the World Commission for Protected Areas and the Sustainable Markets Initiative. Meanwhile, the summit hosts, the Government of Colombia, presented Nature Positive Tourism as a means for the sector to meet its net positive for nature goals. ANIMONDIAL also facilited discussions between IUCN-WCPA and the Nature Positive Tourism Partnership, exploring opportunities for these major players to work together on nature positive goals.

Furthermore, for the first time, COP29 held a day dedicated to Tourism, which included an introduction to the UN Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (adopted in March by the UN Statistical Commission) and greater business commitment to the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism. Both the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (WSHA) and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) also launched significant reports: “Universal Sustainability KPIs” and “Climate and Ocean: Quantifying Coastal and Marine Tourism and Protecting Destinations”, respectively.

Next steps

Global governments will continue to talk and, while further announcements are expected on both nature and climate, concrete progress is likely to remain elsuive. Business on the other hand, is well focused on meeting their obligations and voluntary standards, and this may be where we see more positive outcomes in the near future.

At ANIMONDIAL, we are certainly encouraged to see a greater interest in nature from businesses with the Travel & Tourism sector. Over 100 members of ABTA, the British Travel Association, signed up to ANIMONDIAL’s Biodiversity Literacy for Travel & Tourism training, and an increasing number of businesses are enquiring about our NATOUR IMPACT Evaluation Tool. ANIMONDIAL, of course, will continue to support tourism leaders to realise the potential for Nature Positive Tourism as an agent of positive change. Onwards and upwards!

Daniel Turner, Director of Strategy, ANIMONDIAL

Learn more about:

• NATOUR IMPACT the nature-related risks and impacts evaluation tool
• Business for Nature’s review of COP16 and global business action
• UN Pact for the Future
• How ANIMONDIAL can you help define your commitment to nature