Biodiversity - Briefing note

Biodiversity is declining faster than at any other time in human history. Over the past 50 years there has, on average, been a 68% decline in the populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians. We are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction event, where the previous one wiped out the dinosaurs from existence.

Our economy is a subset of the natural world and vitally depends on nature and biodiversity, with $44 trillion (over 50%) of global GDP relying on ecosystem services based on natural capital. At the current rate, the biodiversity crisis could result in a loss of over US$10 trillion in global GDP by 2050.

With the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) coming up later this year, biodiversity is quickly moving up political and corporate agendas. This briefing note on biodiversity covers the key issues for institutional investors, including:

• Why investors should care about the biodiversity crisis

• The relationship between biodiversity and climate change

• The main drivers of biodiversity loss

• What is the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures 

• What actions investors can take to address biodiversity issues.

Look out for the rest of our mini-series of articles on biodiversity and investment, which will share further insights on how institutional investors can address biodiversity-related issues. These will cover deforestation, terrestrial and marine biodiversity and the COP15 biodiversity conference.

Download our briefing note here

If you would like to explore how climate and nature opportunities may be factored into your investment arrangements, please contact us or your usual Hymans Robertson consultant.