COP16 on Biodiversity: New Business Terrain
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October 17, 2024
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FTI Consulting hosted a webinar with environmental expert and former organizer of the Conference of the Parties (“COP”) Jimena Nieto to explain the upcoming United Nations Biodiversity Conference (“COP16”).
FTI Consulting will be present at COP16 to advise companies on implementing sustainable practices and identifying opportunities which promote and preserve biodiversity.
Latin America is home to 40% of the world’s species and 57% of primary forests.1 Yet it faces severe threats to biodiversity including the growth of illegal mining and corresponding mercury contamination and deforestation,2 climate change disasters such as droughts and wildfires,3 weak state and regulatory controls enabling private sector abuses,4 unsustainable tourism, urban expansion,5 and the highest number of assassinations of environmental activists worldwide.6
COP16: Themes and Targets
It is with this backdrop that over 190 countries will meet this year in Cali, Colombia, to hold COP16.7 The theme is ‘paz con la naturaleza’ (‘peace with nature’); top of the agenda, explained Jimena Nieto, includes:
- The conservation of biological diversity;
- The sustainable use of its components; and
- The fair and equitable participation in the benefits of resources.
The biodiversity COP, held every two years, was last hosted by Kunming-Montreal in 2022 (“COP15”).8 This conference introduced a Global Biodiversity Framework (“GBF”) comprising 23 targets for 2030 and four goals for 2050, applicable across all sectors with a focus on the private sector.9 In turn, the goal of COP16 is to codify a concrete implementation plan to comply with these targets.10
The targets include issues such as controlling invasive species, upholding indigenous rights, strengthening governance and policies, mobilizing financial resources, minimizing the effects of agriculture, reducing contamination, and promoting sustainable trade, production and consumption.11
In particular, Target 18 phases out subsidies harmful to biological diversity, which will have a significant impact on the agriculture, mining and oil & gas sectors.12 Target 15 will affect all sectors, requiring corporations to monitor and disclose their risks and impacts on biodiversity, while promoting regulatory frameworks that ensure transparency, accountability and keep consumers informed.13 Though this is well-established in Europe, Latin America has lagged behind, underscoring the importance of foreign sources of knowledge at COP16 and the participation of organizations such as the UK Business and Biodiversity Forum. Finally, COP16 will examine how biodiversity targets can be integrated with the agreements established in the United Nations Climate Change COP, which is set to take place next year in Brazil.
Susana Muhamad, Colombia’s Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development and the president of COP16, has signaled that this event will be ‘la COP de la gente’ (‘the COP of the people’).14 As such, in addition to the Blue Zone for official and state representatives (15,000 delegates), the Green Zone will be open to indigenous communities, students and the wider public, with over 120,000 people. FTI Consulting will be present at the Green Business Forum in the Green Zone, where our Senior Director Juan Viana will moderate a panel on “Financing a Sustainable Future.”15
Opportunities and Challenges for Companies
In Colombia, incentives for companies that harm the environment will gradually be replaced by penalties – signaling a shift from a ‘carrot’ to ‘stick’ approach. Businesses must integrate biodiversity into their operations and reporting, while actively engaging with communities in the regions where they source their products (e.g., compensation for the areas of origin of plants used by pharmaceutical companies).
Jimena Nieto emphasized the enormous opportunity for companies to showcase their environmental responsibility on a global stage. She noted that companies can learn about new sustainability processes to improve efficiency, secure financing for green initiatives, and foster collaborations with the public sector and other stakeholders. This moment also presents an opportunity for Colombia itself to be positioned as a world leader, and to highlight a president who has placed the environment at the forefront of his administration.16
Several members of FTI Consulting will attend COP16 as official delegates of the UK Business & Biodiversity Forum. If you would like guidance on how your company can participate in COP16 events, develop an agenda, comply with biodiversity targets, and become a leader in this field, please reach out to us.
Footnotes:
FTI Consulting plants trees in the biological reserve Encenillo, Colombia (October 2024).
Footnotes:
1: Gregory Watson, “Nature for Latin America and the Caribbean’s prosperity”, IDB (March 13, 2023).
2: Benjamin Kurylo, “The Environmental Impact of Illegal Mining in Latin America”, Earth.org (April 26, 2024).
3: “The Environmental Impact of Illegal Mining in Latin America”, UN Environment Programme (September 27, 2024).
4: Eduardo Gudynas, “Corrupción, extractivismos y daño ambiental: una íntima asociación”, Ambiental.net (April 14, 2016).
5: Joseluis Samaniego, “The economics of climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean”, Sustainable Development and Human Settlements Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (November 2014).
6: Burak Bir, “More than 2,100 environmental activists killed worldwide over last decade: NGO”, Anadolu Agency (September 10, 2024).
7: “Ministra Susana Muhamad confirma la participación de 10 jefes de Estado y 14.500 personas a la COP16 de biodiversidad”, Colombian Ministry of Environment (September 17, 2024).
8: “UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15)”, UN Environment Programme
9: “Globally Biodiversity Framework”, Convention on Biological Diversity (October 1, 2024).
10: “COP16: Qué está en juego en la Conferencia de Biodiversidad 2024 de la ONU”, The Nature Conservancy (August 21, 2024).
11: “Globally Biodiversity Framework”, Convention on Biological Diversity (December 19, 2022).
12: Ibid.
13: Ibid.
14: COP16, Colombian Ministry of Environment.
15: “Investment and Internationalization for Decarbonization”, Invest Pacific.
16: “Gestión ambiental del Gobierno Petro en el foco internacional”, Colombian Ministry of Environment (July 15, 2023).
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