FfB Foundation Advocates for Biodiversity-Driven Finance System Reform at COP16 Dialogue in Cali

Cali, 30 October 2024 – In a powerful call to action at COP16’s High-Level Thematic Ministerial Dialogue on Sustainable Finance, held on 29 October 2024, Jan Erik Saugestad, CEO of Storebrand Asset Management and representative of the Finance for Biodiversity (FfB) Foundation, advocated for urgent finance system reforms aligned with global biodiversity goals.

Speaking at this event, which ran in parallel with the COP16 High-Level Segment, Saugestad emphasised that financial flows detrimental to nature must pivot towards conservation and ecosystem restoration, stressing that “finance fuels the global economy, and it must now fuel the protection and restoration of our planet’s biodiversity.”

Entitled “Sustainable Finance, Financial System Reform and the Global Responsibility to Biodiversity,” the Dialogue brought together Finance and Environment Ministers and other high-level representatives to address innovative finance mechanisms and regulatory strategies to achieve biodiversity protection. Discussions underscored restructuring debt to promote biodiversity and aligning financial flows with the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) goals.

Saugestad outlined four key areas for finance reform:

• Accelerated Disclosure and Transparency – Speedy implementation of disclosure commitments from the private sector is critical. To enable financial institutions to assess nature impacts consistently, governments must foster coherence across jurisdictions. Standards like TNFD can provide essential frameworks for this effort.
• Pairing Nature Disclosure with Action – Beyond disclosure, governments should mandate that financial institutions and companies develop nature transition plans alongside climate plans, ensuring meaningful, transformative action for biodiversity.
• Role of Central Banks and Supervisors – Central banks and financial supervisors must integrate nature-related risks into their mandates. The Network for Greening the Financial System has already taken steps to expand the scope to environmental risks. As major public investors, central banks should lead by example by increasing nature-positive investments and reducing nature negative ones, supporting a sustainable financial ecosystem.
• Whole-of-Government Approach – Cross-ministerial collaboration between Finance and Environment Ministries is essential to address economic and environmental challenges. Governments should utilize economic policy tools, including harmful subsidy reforms and sector-specific regulations, to support biodiversity and finance progress.

Anita de Horde, Co-Founding Executive Director of the FfB Foundation, concluded with a call for leadership and strong policies to align finance with biodiversity objectives, noting, “This is the moment for meaningful, lasting change.”