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COP15 (UN Biodiversity Conference)

COP15 (UN Biodiversity Conference)
The 15th United Nations Biodiversity Conference, also known as COP15 (although distinct from the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, which was also known as COP15), is scheduled to take place in Montreal, Canada, in December 2022. It seeks to set new goals to conserve biodiversity and reverse nature loss by 2030, and to live in harmony with nature by 2050. The first phase of the conference was held in 2021, in Kunming, China.
A ranger reaches out towards female northern white rhino Najin, one of the last two northern white rhinos on the planet, in her enclosure at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya on August 23, 2019. Photo: AP
Climate change

Outside In | Nature needs saving but where will the West find the money?

However leaders feel about biodiversity and global warming, there is almost no money where their mouths are.

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Science

Opinion | Can the world come together to share benefits of genetic data?

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Hong Kong environmental issues

Opinion | How Hong Kong can help businesses better contribute to biodiversity protection

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Hong Kong environmental issues

The View | Financiers can be Hong Kong’s superpower in biodiversity ambitions

New-found interest of financial professionals and corporate leaders in conservation is welcome surprise as city updates biodiversity strategy.

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A tortoise made from used plastic bottles is displayed at the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation’s “Discovering the Hidden Treasure of Carapace Wonders” Freshwater Turtle & Horseshoe Crab Conservation Exhibition at Cityplaza, Taikoo, on March 28. Photo: Yik Yeung-man
Environment

Opinion | Why Asia’s dying rivers will take people and economies down with them

Freshwater ecosystems are collapsing across Asia as overfishing, pollution and unchecked development push many endangered species to the brink. We need innovative solutions and collaboration across borders from both the public and private sector to keep Asia’s precious rivers from ruination.

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Business of climate change

7 Hong Kong firms join global initiative on nature-related corporate disclosures

The companies are among 320 organisations worldwide that are supporting a global initiative to reverse nature degradation caused by human activity and climate change.

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Hong Kong environmental issues

Opinion | Why Hong Kong must adopt nature-based solutions in the Northern Metropolis

Incorporating nature-based solutions can help resolve the tensions between conserving Hong Kong’s environment and promoting development. Otherwise, the city risks falling behind its peers, missing out on high-quality development and being left out of national and global initiatives.

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Lok Ma Chau at the northwest border in Hong Kong. The site of the proposed Northern Metropolis is an ecologically sensitive area with wetlands important to Hong Kong’s well-being, making it essential for the government to strike a balance between preserving the environment and pursuing development. Photo: May Tse
Business of climate change

How asset managers are starting to gauge corporate harm to nature, biodiversity

Asset managers say they must establish their own assessment tools for this work amid a lack of internationally agreed metrics. Allianz Global Investors and T. Rowe Price are among the companies doing so.

Business of climate change

Disclosure recommendations debut for business risks of nature loss

‘Nature risk is sitting in company cash flows and capital portfolios today,’ says co-chair of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, which released 14 recommended disclosures on Monday.

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China's border reopening

China targets invasive plants and animals in 3-year crackdown

More than 1,400 species were stopped from entering the country in the first six months of this year, customs says.

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Red imported fire ants are among the invasive species that authorities are seeking to keep out of China. Photo: Shutterstock
Business of climate change

3 Hong Kong-listed firms pilot test TNFD framework as adoption nears

Swire Properties, Towngas and Vitasoy are pilot testing the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures framework due to be launched in September.

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Companies will be under greater pressure to enhance biodiversity-related reporting from 2024 once the TNFD framework is released in September. Photo: AFP
Hong Kong environmental issues

Opinion | Hong Kong must get tough on poachers. Its biodiversity matters globally

Hong Kong is the last stronghold for critically endangered species such as the golden coin turtle; losing them is tantamount to a global extinction. It’s time for stiffer enforcement and penalties.

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Business of climate change

Explainer | Hong Kong firms keen on implementing TNFD rules to stem global biodiversity loss

The TNFD framework is a pioneering tool, which outlines a clear approach for companies to embrace nature-related opportunities and risks, to tackle the potential impacts of biodiversity loss, Hong Kong firms say.

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Business of climate change

Final draft of framework released as importance of biodiversity reporting grows

The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures has released the final draft of its framework for companies to report ecological risks that could impact their businesses.

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The Towngas plant in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district. The utility has already published a disclosure in response to the TNFD framework, in November last year. Photo: Martin Chan
Business of climate change

Investors stress on importance of biodiversity as much as climate change: Robeco

Investors are becoming much more aware of the importance of biodiversity as part of the struggle against climate change, according to Robeco’s Global Climate Survey.

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Investors are increasingly paying attention to biodiversity as part of the shift to a low-carbon economy. Photo: Shutterstock
Business of climate change

Hong Kong start-up comes to the rescue of the world’s endangered corals

Besides providing crucial breeding ground for fish, coral reefs act as natural buffers against storms and surges, protecting an estimated 200 million people living along the world’s coastlines from violent weather.

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Climate change

Opinion | Selfish humans are their own worst enemy on climate change

When individuals, communities, companies and states want to deal with climate change, they first have to recognise their shared fate and interdependence. Diversity is, after all, what makes life possible.

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Climate change

Inside Out | Climate change, biodiversity efforts inseparable as mass extinction looms

How is it possible to separate the climate crisis from concerns over widespread habitat loss, species dying out and other aspects of biodiversity? Our behaviour as a species could end up exterminating us rather than driving the rest of the natural world to mortal danger.

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Maasai children run past a zebra that local residents said died due to drought, as they graze their cattle at Ilangeruani village, near Lake Magadi, in Kenya, on November 9. Kenyan authorities said the drought had killed hundreds of zebras among several other species in nine months. Photo: AP
Climate change

Opinion | How does Uganda oil project live up to China’s biodiversity pledge?

China should stop state firms from investing in projects such as the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, which threaten biodiversity and local livelihoods.

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Climate change

Letters | ‘Historic’ COP15 biodiversity deal risks being an empty promise

Readers discuss the feasibility of the world’s new biodiversity goals, and how to solve a problem like teen gambling.

Climate change

UN COP15’s historic deal to protect 30 per cent of planet by 2030

The UN COP15’s historic biodiversity deal is the most significant effort to protect the planet’s lands and oceans, and provide financing to save biodiversity in the developing world.

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The draft also calls for raising US$200 billion by 2030 for biodiversity from a range of sources and working to phase out or reform subsidies that could provide another US$500 billion for nature. Photo: Xinhua
Climate change diplomacy

Draft UN biodiversity deal calls to protect 30 per cent of planet by 2030

There were signs that negotiators were closing in on a historic deal at a UN conference that would be the most significant effort to protect the world’s land and oceans.

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Police officers walk past a sign outside the Palais de Congres, during the COP15 UN biodiversity summit in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Reuters
Environment

The View | Without biodiversity, the global economy would crumble

The natural world supports much of our economic activity, generating trillions of dollars, yet natural resources are too often treated as valueless. Factoring environmental dependency and impact into all business decisions will go a long way to ensure biodiversity is protected.

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Climate change

Opinion | For high returns on investment, nature is a good bet

As world leaders chart a course to reignite global growth, they must not ignore the relationship between nature and the economy. In the years ahead, preserving biodiversity and ecosystems could be the key to unlocking an estimated US$10 trillion annually in new opportunities.

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Africa

Drought kills Kenya’s wildlife while COP15 meets in Canada

While nations get together in Montreal for the biodiversity conference, failed rains thousands of miles away have led to the deaths of hundreds of animals, with desperate survivors entering villages in their search for food.

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Kenyan children run past a zebra that locals say died due to drought. Photo: AP
Justin Trudeau

Video | Protesters cut off Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s COP15 speech

Protesters cut off Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s COP15 speech
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Climate change

Opinion | Can the world agree to avoid a sixth ‘great extinction’?

The UN biodiversity conference in Montreal could be as consequential for nature as the Paris agreement still might be for climate action. However, the fact that few heads of state are attending the much-delayed meeting does not bode well for success.

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European Union

No coffee? EU agrees law preventing import of goods linked to deforestation

Law requires firms to prove their supply chains are not contributing to the destruction of forests, or face hefty fines.

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