On June 10th, after 9 months of intense preparation, The Task force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) will launch. This comes at a time when biodiversity loss has become the next “green swan” risk for the financial sector due to the risk of collapsing eco-systems.
The objective of the TNFD is to complement the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) launched in 2015 by the G20 Financial Stability Board with a focus on nature and biodiversity risks.
“With the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, TCFD, we managed to shift private finance and we need to do the same with TNFD.”
said French President Emmanuel Macron at the One Planet Summit in January 2021.
The TNFD will begin its formal work on Thursday, June 10th, with a presentation of the direction, vision and scope of future work, available to public consultation. It aims to publish its first recommendations in 2023.
We look forward to celebrating with you the global launch of the TNFD on Thursday, 10 June!
Click here to join the virtual event at 930 EDT - 1430 BST – 1530 CET - 2130 SGT : https://tinyurl.com/TNFDLaunch
TNFD Work
In their report “Into the wild: integrating nature into investment decisions“, WWF France and Axa recommended setting up a “Task force on nature impacts disclosures” to analyze financial risk of biodiversity loss. In September 2020, 40 financial institutions and private firms, 17 think tanks and 6 governments formed an Informal Working Group (IWG) in order to prepare the incoming launch. The objective of the Informal Working Group that IIGF supported with Prof. Wang Yao and Dr. Christoph Nedopil-Wang, was to establish a work plan and the governance system of the TNFD Working Group.
The work of the IWG was coordinated by a Steering Committee, formed by Global Canopy, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEPFI) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The IWG is currently composed by 8 Regulatory institutions and governments, 17 think-tanks and 49 Financial institutions and private firms, totalling 74 members (Appendix 1).
The members of the IWG have assets under management of over USD 8 trillion.
An independent Technical Expert Group of 13 expert members from institutions and firms have been supporting the IWG’s work to define the governance, budget and scope of the TNFD (Appendix 2).
An Observer Group of governmental, private sector and civil society organizations has also been involved by following the activities of the IWG and commenting on their deliberations.
” We recognise the urgency and call for the integration of both climate and nature-related risks into organisational risk management architecture, and of investing in natural capital, which will enable finance to play a greater role by pivoting towards nature positive projects and investments. We recognise the importance of work on nature-related financial disclosure and note with interest the establishment of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures and its aims.”
disclosed the G7 Climate & Environment Ministers’ Communique on the 21st May 2021
Starting in June and in collaboration with the business sector, financial institutions, NGOs, think-tanks and governments, the TNFD will develop frameworks to analyse, measure and eventually monitor the impact of companies’ activities on biodiversity, while identifying economic opportunities to the protection and restoration of nature. The proposed TNFD’s scope recommendations developed by the IWG’s work streams will be available on the launch day for public consultation.
What does it mean for China
As China embraces an “ecological civilisation”, the country is starting to accelerate its green transition, and biodiversity ought to be one of its major concern for the coming years, especially on overseas infrastructure projects of the BRI.
The TNFD work can be essential in helping China positioning itself on the international scene by informing policy-maker on biodiversity finance biases and solutions.
TNFD work on identifying nature-related risks and dependencies that materially affect investment portfolios can help Chinese companies take better investing decisions and accelerate green finance development under biodiversity considerations.
TNFD can also support Chinese financial institutions and companies to monitor nature-related risks in their overseas investments as was recommended by the BRI traffic light system published in December 2020 by the BRIGC.
Finally, as TNFD aims to redirect global finance flows towards positive economic activities, China can drive the closure of the biodiversity finance gap by integrating the TNFD actions and lead private investment toward biodiversity-friendly projects.
The COP 15 biodiversity talks to be hosted by China will be a key test of the country’s ambitions toward biodiversity conservation. In October 2021, delegates from nearly 200 countries will meet in the capital of Yunnan province, southwest China, to agree on a new framework to halt biodiversity loss and protect ecosystems. The work accomplished by the IIGF and other institutions through the TNFD will be determining for those countries future commitments toward biodiversity conservation.
Find more on : https://tnfd.info/
Overview of the IWG members of the Task Force for Nature Related Financial Disclosure (TNFD)
| IWG Members |
| Governments and Regulators |
| CNBV: Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores, México |
| COFEMA: Federal Council for the Environment of Argentina |
| Government of France |
| Government of the Netherlands |
| Government of Peru |
| Government of Switzerland |
| Government of the United Kingdom |
| RBA: Retirement Benefits Authority, Kenya |
| Think tanks and consortia |
| CEBDS: Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development |
| CDSB: Climate Disclosure Standards Board |
| CBD: Convention on Biological Diversity |
| CEDAF, Domincan Republic |
| CIFAL Argentina |
| Ecoacsa, Spain |
| FC4S: Financial Centers for Sustainability |
| SIF: Sustainable Insurance Forum |
| Finance for Tomorrow |
| GEF: Global Environment Facility |
| IIF: Institute of International Finance |
| IIGF: International Institute of Green Finance, China |
| OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |
| PRI: Principles for Responsible Investment |
| SusCon Japan |
| WBCSD: World Business Council for Sustainable Development |
| WEF: World Economic Forum |
| Financial institutions and private firms |
| AFD: Agence Française de Développement, France |
| Aggrego Consultores, Brazil |
| AXA, France |
| BPCE/Natixis, France |
| BNP Paribas, France |
| BP, UK |
| Banco del Progreso, Alcaldía de Cúcuta, Colombia |
| Banco Sudameris, Paraguay |
| Banorte, Mexico |
| BNDES – Brazilian Development Bank |
| CAF: Latin America Development Bank |
| Citi, USA |
| Credit Suisse, Switzerland |
| Danske Bank, Denmark |
| DBS Bank, Singapore |
| EBRD: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development |
| EcoAdvisors, Canada |
| EIB: European Investment Bank |
| Ernst & Young, USA |
| FAMA Investimentos, Brazil |
| FirstRand Group, South Africa |
| GlaxoSmithKline Plc, UK |
| H&M, Sweden |
| HSBC Pollination Climate Asset Management |
| Iberdrola, Spain |
| IFC: International Finance Corporation |
| Impax Asset Management, UK |
| ISS ESG: Institutional Shareholder Services Inc, USA |
| JBS |
| Kering |
| KPMG |
| Lloyds Banking Group, UK |
| Manulife Investment Management |
| Maua Capital, Brazil |
| Mirova, France |
| NatWest Group, UK |
| Pimco, USA |
| Rabobank, Netherlands |
| Raiffeisen Switzerland |
| Reckitt Benckiser, UK |
| Rio Tinto |
| Robeco, The Netherlands |
| Standard Chartered, UK |
| Storebrand Asset Management, Norway |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management, Japan |
| Tesco, UK |
| Wells Fargo Asset Management, US |
| World Bank |
| Yes Bank Limited, India |
The Members of the Technical Expert Group of the Task Force for Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD)
| Technical Expert Group |
| Nicky Chambers (Co-chair), Global Canopy |
| Simon Zadek (Co-chair), Finance for Biodiversity |
| Vian Sharif, FNZ Group |
| Joris van Toor, De Nederlandsche Bank |
| Marianne Haahr, Green Digital Finance Alliance |
| Frank Hawkins, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) |
| Luciane Moessa de Souza, Soluções Inclusivas Sustentáveis |
| Siobhan Cleary, Individual |
| Corli Pretorius, UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) |
| Andre Chanavat, Refinitiv |
| Clara Barby, Impact Management Project |
| Robin Millington, Planet Tracker |
| Katia Karousakis, OECD |
About the author(s)
Aurélie Chane-Yook is a research fellow at the Green BRI Center at IIGF.
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