Mirova Joins the Call From 50 Companies Urging EU Policy-Makers to Adopt Environmental Legislation to Address the Nature and Climate Crises Together

Ahead of a critical vote on the EU Nature Restoration Law, 50 business leaders, among which Philippe Zaouati, CEO of Mirova, published a letter urging European leaders to adopt ambitious environmental policies and regulations to tackle the negative impacts of the dual climate and nature emergencies.

The science is clear: biodiversity protection and restoration is integral to climate change mitigation and adaptation: the nature and climate crises must be addressed as intertwined challenges.

The next few months will be critical to start the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and deliver strong outcomes for nature, including:

• The adoption of the EU Nature Restoration Law, which will contribute to implementing several of the GBF targets, including Target 2 on the restoration of degraded ecosystems, Target 7 on addressing pollution, including from pesticides and Target 10 on sustainable land use. A failure to adopt an ambitious law would impede the EU implementation on the global agreement. Another transformative target in the global agreement is Target 15, which commits governments to require all large, global companies and financial institutions to assess and disclose their risks, impacts and dependencies on nature.
• The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) implementation standards, which will set the structure and disclosure requirements that companies, banks and insurance companies will need to report on.

The open letter is one of several recent calls from businesses and investors for timely and effective EU environmental policies. In a public statement, businesses and business associations are also calling for the urgent adoption of the EU Nature Restoration Law to bring nature back to Europe.

There are concerns that some lobby groups are pushing for a ‘regulatory pause’ on environmental legislation in Europe, even though 196 countries adopted a new global deal for nature in December 2022 at the UN Biodiversity COP15 – the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), with the mission to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030.

The costs of inaction will bring much greater challenges and risks for the economy. We are already experiencing the negative effects of climate change and nature loss, and these will only grow more complex and widespread if we step on the brake of critical nature-related legislation. At the same time, the commercial opportunities of a nature-positive economy are immense.

Now is the time to leave a historic legacy and deliver a comprehensive European Green Deal. Together, we can build a thriving, resilient economy that safeguards nature and climate, as well as creating opportunities for inclusive and sustainable growth.

For further reading:

• Energy Transition And Biodiversity: A Difficult Union
• Accelerating Biodiversity Preservation With L’Oréal
• Mirova for Nature #3
• Biodiversity In A Nutshell
• Biodiversity: The Missing Piece in the ESG Puzzle
• ESG: Measuring Carbon Footprint and Beyond
• Iceberg Data Lab and I Care & Consult Selected to Provide First of its Kind Biodiversity Impact Measurement Tool for Investors
• European Investors Rally Around Biodiversity