Eco-Business

The Beijing-headquartered state-owned multinational bank is the first Chinese financial institution representative on the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, which now has 40 members.

There can be no business on a dead planet, and yet most of the region's largest firms do not measure their impact on nature – and focus only on climate in their sustainability reports, a study by National University of Singapore Business School finds.

The initiative is philanthropy-led and will extend beyond traditional Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to cover conservation of more existing ocean ecosystems. Less than 3 per cent of the region's national waters are under formal protection but a deadline to meet a global conservation target looms.

As COP16 in Colombia nears, renowned Argentine biologist Sandra Díaz champions the need for transformative change to tackle biodiversity loss.

By Catherine Early

Thomson Reuters Foundation

All #COP16 News →

The region can shape the Global Plastics Treaty if it maintains its momentum from COP16, where the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia called for the inclusion of Indigenous peoples rights and stronger collaboration on biodiversity finance. By Rayhan Dudayev

Two years ago, developed countries pledged at least US$20 billion annually by 2025 to help preserve 30 per cent of the world’s land and oceans. But most countries have failed to contribute their fair share. By Mary Robinson

China’s active involvement in climate diplomacy can increase overseas understanding of its climate policies and bring impetus to global climate governance. By Liu Yuanling