Finance for Biodiversity Foundation welcomes 13 new Pledge signatories at 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference
The Finance for Biodiversity (FfB) Foundation is today celebrating a new milestone on Finance Day at UN CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia, with 13 new signatories, including Synergy International Lda., taking the total number of FfB Pledge signatories to 190. These financial institutions, from 28 countries, represent a total of €22.6 trillion combined assets and assets under management. The new signatory financial institutions were welcomed by the Co-Founding Executive Director of Finance for Biodiversity Foundation, Anita de Horde, during the closing plenary of Finance Day.
The newly committed signatories of the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge are Banco de Occidente S.A., B Capital Partners, Berkeley Capital Group, Church Commissioners for England, Confluence Impact Fund, Delubac Asset Management, DNCA Finance, Eiffel Investment Group, fama re.capital, Infranity, OP Asset Management, Synergy International Lda. and Universities Superannuation Scheme. From this group, B Capital Partners, Berkeley Capital Group, Church Commissioners for England, Eiffel Investment Group, Infranity and Universities Superannuation Scheme joined as fully-fledged members of the FfB community. Additionally, Caisse des Dépôts, a signatory since 2020, and eco.business Fund, which joined in 2021, have further solidified their commitment by becoming members.
Norval Loftus, Director of Synergy International Lda. says, “We´re on a mission to provide specialist financing to build the projects that will provide a sustainable and biodiverse future.”
Commitment to Biodiversity
The growth rate of financial institutions that have joined this round as signatories to the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge demonstrates a growing recognition of the critical importance and urgency of addressing biodiversity and ecosystem protection. Their commitment to aligning financing activities and investments with the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems signals not only a shift in priorities, but also a deeper understanding of the risks posed by biodiversity loss. Additionally, the diversity of institutions, ranging from asset managers and asset owners to banks and insurers, showcases a broad range of financial actors aligning their operations with biodiversity goals. This collective action highlights the sector’s dedication to driving impactful change in biodiversity finance.
Finance Day during COP16
The Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 16), will be the first Biodiversity COP since the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) at COP 15 in December 2022 in Montreal, Canada. Parties to the Convention are expected to show the alignment of their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) with the Framework. COP16 will further develop the monitoring framework and advance resource mobilisation for the Global Biodiversity Framework. Finance Day is a one-day event to mobilise a globally representative group of finance sector participants in support of delivering Goal D and associated targets of the GBF.
The acknowledgment of this new round of signatories at COP16 highlights their dedication to addressing the urgent need to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. By actively supporting the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, these institutions reaffirm their commitment to advancing global biodiversity targets and playing a pivotal role in this transformative agenda.
Finance for Biodiversity Pledge
The Finance for Biodiversity Pledge is a commitment of financial institutions to protect and restore biodiversity through their finance activities and investments. The Pledge consists of 5 steps financial institutions commit to take:
- Collaborating and sharing knowledge
- Engaging with companies
- Assessing impact
- Setting targets
- Reporting publicly on the above by 2024 at the latest, or within two years after signing*
*Financial institutions that signed the FfB Pledge before 2024 are committed to report publicly in 2025 (with 2024 data). Signatories that committed in 2024 will need to report publicly in 2027 (with 2026 data).
New Pledge signatories to mark the second anniversary of the adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework
FfB Foundation will organise another round celebrating new signatories on the second anniversary of the adoption of the GBF on 19th December. Financial Institutions can sign up before the deadline of 22nd of November via our registration page here.
To know more about the moment of celebration of the new signatories at COP16, please visit this page.