On 27 June 2023, under the IFRS Foundation (International Financial Reporting Standards), the ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board) released the S1 and S2 reporting standards.
As we foresaw, the impetus on biodiversity and Nature-based Solutions has further gathered momentum, with COP15 continuing to pave the way on how to deliver a net-positive impact on nature.
COP15 is taking place in Montreal, Canada, from 5 December to 17 December, more than two years after the summit was meant to have taken place. Delegates from across the globe are meeting to produce a Paris Agreement-style deal for nature, resulting in an end to the degradation of biodiversity and the acceleration and mainstreaming of work to restore ecosystems and habitats.
Following the two-week climate summit in Egypt, representatives and negotiators from across the globe reached a series of conclusions; the most prominent of which being support for climate victims in the form of a loss and damage facility – with a commitment to set up a financial support structure for the most vulnerable by the next COP in 2023.
In July, the United Nations General Assembly declared that everyone has the right to live in a healthy, sustainable environment. In so doing, it recognised that the well-being of our society is inextricably bound to the functions of the natural world.
Tomorrow, Wednesday 16th November, will be biodiversity day at COP27, focusing on discussions around nature and Nature-based Solutions (NbS). Nature-based Solutions are actions that involve working with and enhancing natural habitats for societal good through restoration, management and protection; such as preserving and regrowing forests, and restoring wetlands and peatlands as carbon sinks, or regrowing mangrove swamps as barriers against storm surges and higher sea levels.