Euroviews. Business must lead on safeguarding nature

Nature underpins our global economy with over half of the world’s total GDP — $44 trillion (€40.6tr) — moderately or highly dependent on nature and its services and, as a result, at risk of imminent disruption due to exposure to drivers of nature loss.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 warns that environmental risks make up half of the top 10 risks over the next decade, ranking biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse together as the third biggest global risk.

Pivoting away from business as usual is not a “good thing to have” but critical for human well-being and economic prosperity. Our research shows that investing in nature could unlock $10tr (€9.2tr) of business opportunities annually and create 395 million jobs by 2030.

The theme of 22 May, the UN’s annual International Day for Biological Diversity, is “Be part of the Plan” and is an explicit recognition that everyone — governments, indigenous peoples, local communities, businesses and individuals — must collaborate in creating a nature-positive future.

The UN Biodiversity Plan lays out 4 goals and 23 global targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and put the world back on track to live in harmony with nature. 

While the onus is on governments to create the right policy mechanisms and incentives for these goals to be met, it is notable that several of the targets call out the role of business. 

For example, Target 15 calls out for disclosures by businesses on their nature-related impacts and dependencies.

Indeed, this is no longer a matter of choice, given the rapid and unparalleled biodiversity loss we are facing. Nearly 2 million species are at risk of extinction driven by the human activity which results in habitat loss and degradation. 

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