Finance for Biodiversity Foundation Delegation to attend COP16 in Colombia
A delegation of 70 representatives from financial institutions, including Federated Hermes Limited, HSBC Asset Management, and Storebrand Asset Management, will represent the Finance for Biodiversity (FfB) Foundation at COP16 in Cali, Colombia, from 21 October to 1 November 2024. The delegation will call on global leaders to implement the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and align financial flows to reverse nature loss this decade.
Other key delegates include CEOs Jan Erik Saugestad (Storebrand AM), and Geneviève Morin (Fondaction), Deputy-CEO Anne-Laurence Roucher (Mirova) and Founder Kelvin Chiu (Silverstrand Capital), alongside senior representatives from Aviva and Manulife Investment Management. The delegation will participate in Finance & Biodiversity Day on 28 October in addition to the extensive programme of events taking place at the Finance & Biodiversity Pavilion, next to the FfB Booth in the Blue Zone of COP16.
“COP16 is a pivotal moment to urge that financial flows are aligned with the Global Biodiversity Framework. Mobilising private finance is essential to halting biodiversity loss by 2030. We call on global leaders to take bold action and strengthen regulations and incentives to drive the transformation needed. The finance sector stands ready to play a key role in delivering these ambitious goals,” said Anita de Horde, Executive Director of FfB Foundation.
Jan Erik Saugestad, CEO, Storebrand Asset Management, commented, “The need for a bold, effective and coordinated response to nature has never been more pressing. We urge governments to implement policies that support investor action to protect both biodiversity and the economy. This will require sectoral transformation including setting clear boundaries and promoting innovation in the most impactful sectors on nature policy tools such as regulation, tax reform, and phasing out harmful subsidies.”
Ingrid Kukuljan, Head of Impact and Sustainable Investing at Federated Hermes Limited, added, “Protecting biodiversity and addressing nature-related risks should be part of fiduciary duty for all investors, and we are delighted to be partnering with the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation to accelerate action. At COP16, we hope to see meaningful progress towards implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework, including on resource mobilisation and the alignment of financial flows with biodiversity goals and targets. This includes scaling up solutions to finance nature protection and restoration, establishing nature-related disclosure requirements and reforming subsidies to reduce harmful impacts on nature. Pricing of externalities will also be essential. Policymakers must introduce regulation to mitigate the negative impacts on nature currently caused by companies’ operations and supply chains and increase their contribution to halting and reversing biodiversity loss.”
Hosting the Finance & Biodiversity Pavilion
The FfB Foundation, in partnership with UNEP FI and UNDP, will host the Finance & Biodiversity Pavilion at COP16. This hub will facilitate key discussions, announcements and networking among financial institutions, policymakers and conservationists, focusing on the alignment of financial flows with biodiversity goals.
The full agenda of the FfB Foundation COP16 events can be found here.
Networking and briefings in the FfB Booth
Within the Finance & Biodiversity Pavilion, there will be a dedicated space for networking and daily policy briefings for FfB members in the “FfB Booth” area, with support of Federated Hermes Limited, Storebrand Asset Management, Aviva plc, eco.business Fund, HSBC Asset Management, Manulife Investment Management and Silverstrand Capital.
The FfB Pledge signatories that will attend COP16 either as part of the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation’s delegation or as part of other delegations are: Aviva , AXA, AXA IM, Banco de Bogotá, Banco de Occidente, Caisse des Dépôts France, Church Commissioners for England, Climate Asset Management, Danske Bank, Desjardins Global Asset Management, Domini Impact Investments LLC, eco.business Fund, Federated Hermes Limited, Fidelity International, Fondaction, HSBC Asset Management, Manulife Investment Management, Mirova, Pension Danmark, Rabobank, Robeco, Silverstrand Capital and Storebrand AM.
Stay tuned for the full event agenda and ongoing announcements from the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation during COP16.
For the already announced FfB Foundation organised events at the Finance & Biodiversity Pavilion see here