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Global Nature Positive Summit
Context:
Leaders from government, private sector, research, environment, and First Nations communities are gathering in Sydney this week for the world’s first Global Nature Positive Summit.
More on News:
- The summit highlights the need not only to conserve remaining biodiversity but also to actively restore degraded ecosystems to benefit from their valuable services.
- Co-hosted by the Australian and New South Wales governments, the summit aims to drive increased private sector investment in environmental protection and restoration efforts.
Key Objectives:
- Investment in Nature: The summit seeks to drive private sector investment to support nature-positive projects that prioritise environmental health.
- Policy Framework: It will emphasise the need for clear and consistent policies that encourage businesses to invest confidently in nature-related initiatives.
- Global Commitments: The event aligns with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which mandates that at least 30% of land and waters be protected or restored by 2030.
Nature Repair Markets:
- In December 2023, Australia passed legislation to establish a nature repair market.
- This market issues certificates for biodiversity projects that enhance or protect ecosystems beyond what would occur naturally (a concept called “additionality”).
- Certificates, issued once projects are sufficiently advanced, allow biodiversity outcomes to be traded independently from the land.
- Multiple certificates can be issued for the same project area, a practice known as “stacking.”
- However, concerns have been raised about the integrity of such markets. Issues include:
- Complexity: Stacking presents implementation challenges, including risks of double-dipping.
- Clarity: The dual issuance of certificates for actual and projected outcomes raises concerns about potential misleading claims under Australian consumer law.
- Demand Uncertainty: It’s unclear if enough businesses will voluntarily buy these certificates, leaving the market’s viability uncertain while biodiversity continues to decline.
Alternatives to Market-Based Solutions:
- Reducing or stopping activities harmful to nature, including eliminating harmful subsidies.
- The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists estimated that $7.3 billion annually for 30 years (a total of $219 billion) could fund critical activities to reverse Australia’s biodiversity decline. Yet, the government currently spends 50 times more on subsidies harmful to biodiversity than on conservation efforts.
- Increasing federal government investment in conservation to at least 1% of the annual budget, which would have a transformative impact.
- Implementing overdue environmental law reforms promised by the Albanese government.
Way Ahead:
- Aligning Economic and Environmental Policies: The economy is a subsidiary of the environment, and government investment in conservation is not only affordable but also far more efficient.
- Stopping harmful practices would provide the most direct route to improving biodiversity outcomes.
- Environmental Law Reform and Government Action: The Albanese government has promised comprehensive environmental law reform but has yet to deliver.
- Urgency of Government Action: To achieve the global goal of becoming nature-positive by 2030 and fully recovering biodiversity by 2050, binding commitments must be made at the Global Nature Positive Summit.