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Humans as Wmd

December 31, 2022 | Expert Insights

A recent study by Cornell University has highlighted that 99.9% of scientists agree that climate change, biodiversity loss, and other nature-related issues are man-made. The human demands and resulting activities have led us to the present situation wherein the only habitable planet known to humans has been experiencing the largest destruction and loss of life, with around a million species of flora and fauna on the brink of extinction.

Raising the alarm on the same, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described humans as "Weapons of Mass Destruction" in his opening remarks at the COP 15 Montreal conference. The COP 15 conference has adopted a Global Biodiversity Framework as a response action plan to this damage. This action plan is a prospective driving instrument for a major shift in policies and regulations all over the world, with the identified targets opening new opportunities for investors and business houses.

Background

The new Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was initiated with the realisation of humans' damage to the planet. GBF is a recent development coming out of COP 15, which would shape the policies and regulations around the globe for the coming decade. Policies and regulations do not act in silos. A global move like GBF, which drives major regulations and shifts in policies, would affect businesses and consumers all over the world.

The blame for the change in nature had largely been placed on the business houses & MNCs, with the UN chief accusing them of "filling their bank accounts while emptying our world of its natural gifts". There was a huge expectation from the COP 15 to agree to a Global Biodiversity Framework post-2020, which aims to set policies and regulations to herald a change in the vision of the current ‘economic game’ and direct businesses towards a sustainable approach.

GBF, including four goals and twenty-three targets to be achieved by 2030, was adopted by the conference with the hope of having a lasting impact. The GBF targets attack the root causes, such as behavioural patterns of unsustainable consumption and economic practices of misdirected subsidies and investments towards harmful activities. These targets are of prime importance to the stakeholders in the economy since it seeks to change the conditioned behaviour of producers and consumers with the help of national governments.

The proven idea that humans are the root cause of the climate and biodiversity-related damages caused thus far on the planet should give a sense of responsibility to act sustainably and responsibly. The collective uptake of these practices can only be ensured with legislation backed by political motivations.

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Analysis

COP 15 saw a greater-than-ever-before representation from the business houses in a biodiversity convention. Before the initiation of COP 15, around 300 business houses from 52 countries with cumulative revenues worth $1.5 trillion urged the leaders to adopt the specific "Target no. 15", i.e., mandatory assessment and disclosure of the dependence and impact on nature by large businesses and financial institutions.

This comes from a realisation of the bottom line in resources and nature for the production, along with the need to tap into the loyal customer base concerned over the impact of their consumption behaviour. The conflict of the hour is that very little has been done to reduce the impact, even by the companies who push for a mandatory impact assessment. If effective, the framework will push for nations to adopt policies and regulations to demotivate such anti-nature activities, affecting the revenues of these companies and forcing them to shift towards alternative models.

The need for this alternative model arises as the preferences of consumers, investors and regulators distance themselves from the current harmful economic model of production, extraction and procurement. The shift of subsidies, investments and demand towards a nature-positive economy as an alternative could provide for business and commercial opportunities worth trillions per year in the fields of a) food, land, and ocean use, b) infrastructure and built environment system, and c) energy and extractives system while giving openings to hundreds of millions of jobs by 2030 in the same.

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  1. Nature-Positive Food, Land, and Ocean Use Business Opportunities

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b) Nature-Positive Infrastructure and Built Environment System Business Opportunities

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c) Nature-Positive Energy and Extractives System Business Opportunities

A closer look and understanding of GBF goals and targets present opportunities in renewable energy, plastic reduction and sustainable resource extraction sectors. Target 18 attacks the approximately 2% of the global GDP that goes into subsiding activities considered harmful to nature, i.e. equivalent to $1.8 trillion per year. These subsidies are now to be shifted towards the aforementioned sectors creating profit and employment opportunities.

Adopting the framework now also requires nations like India to align their respective biodiversity strategies and plans (NBSAP in the case of India) with themselves for a unilateral and effective implementation. Indian states have their own State Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans, largely adding up to the National targets. With the new GBF, resources and funds need to be pulled from the Global Environment Facility as well to align these state and national plans with the larger global ones.

Assessment

  • Nations must prepare to meet the demands of new policies and regulations aligned with GBF, which will push for a shift towards new business opportunities in the nature-positive sectors. This provides an opportunity to tap into a new industry with a loyal customer base.
  • The shift of subsidies and grants worldwide towards more sustainable practices opens gates for new research ventures and operations in renewable energy, plastic reduction & alternative, and sustainable mineral extraction sector.
  • The adoption of GBF now requires India to align its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) with the global framework for unilateral implementation. This would pull funds from the larger Global environment fund for effective implementation.