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Water will become very political in 2023, says Eurasia Group analyst
Perhaps the biggest surprise in Eurasia Group's top 10 geopolitical risks for 2023 is No. 10: water scarcity. But you should definitely pay attention to it.
The problem is that we take access to water for granted, says Eurasia Group analyst Franck Gbaguidi.
And while we've kept ignoring the issue, now the global population has hit 8 billion people. What's more, climate change is making water even less plentiful — and therefore more political.
Gbaguidi is not optimistic on the odds of global cooperation and forecasts four big things that might happen this year related to water.
Read Eurasia Group's Top Risks 2023 report here.
Watch the full live conversation: Top Risks 2023: A rogue Russia and autocrats threatening the world
Top Risks 2023: A rogue Russia and autocrats threatening the world
What should the world fear more: an increasingly unhinged Vladimir Putin or an unbound Xi Jinping? Will most of the global economy enter a recession next year? And what happens when autocrats master the use of artificial intelligence to undermine democracy around the planet? Eurasia Group experts share their view on the top 10 geopolitical risks for 2023 in this livestream conversation.
Participants:
- Ian Bremmer, President and Founder, Eurasia Group and GZERO Media
- Cliff Kupchan, Chairman, Eurasia Group
- Anna Ashton, Director, China Corporate Affairs and US-China, Eurasia Group
- Franck Gbaguidi, Senior Analyst, Climate, Energy & Resources, Eurasia Group
- Rob Kahn, Managing Director, Global Macro-Geoeconomics , Eurasia Group
- Evan Solomon, Publisher, GZERO Media (moderator)
How measuring nature at the DNA level unlocks financial growth
Katie Critchlow is CEO of NatureMetrics, a company that, well, measures nature. But how?
"We use eDNA; that's all the DNA that's left behind in the environment by every species because every species in the world contains DNA," she explains during the livestream discussion "Time for nature: Turning biodiversity risk into opportunity," hosted by GZERO in partnership with Suntory.
But the animals and plants you see, Critchlow points out, are only a tiny fraction of total life on earth. There's a lot of very small stuff too.
Those microbes, fungi, and nematodes are what matter most to business risk because they "drive the nutrient cycles and the carbon cycles and basically keep us all alive."
Learn more about this GZERO Media live discussion: https://www.gzeromedia.com/sustainability
How to stop greenwashing on biodiversity investments
Investors are starting to pay attention to biodiversity. But how can we be sure that interest doesn't result in greenwashing?
With transparency and rigorous information sources, FNZ Group sustainability chief Vian Sharif says during "Time for nature: Turning biodiversity risk into opportunity," a livestream conversation hosted by GZERO in partnership with Suntory.
Also, it's early days for something very complex to measure and report.
"We're in a very nascent phase right now," says Sharif. "This is right at the start of the journey."
Learn more about this GZERO Media live discussion: https://www.gzeromedia.com/sustainability
COP15 sign outside the Palais de Congres in Montreal, Canada.
COP15 seals “30 by 30” deal on protecting biodiversity
The COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal, Canada, wrapped up on Monday with a much-awaited agreement to protect 30% of land and water considered “important” for biodiversity by 2030.
Wait, didn't we just have COP27 in Egypt? Yes, but that was about climate change. While climate and biodiversity are not exactly the same thing, they are definitely related.
“Biodiversity and climate are deeply intertwined. It will actually not be possible to solve one crisis without addressing the other,” Ko Barrett, vice chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and senior adviser for climate at NOAA, said during a recent livestream on biodiversity hosted by GZERO in partnership with Suntory.
What’s in the COP15 deal? The 30% commitment — known in COP15 parlance as “30 by 30” — will almost double the current percentage of protected areas on the planet.
That’s nothing to sneeze at, considering we’re on the brink of a sixth mass extinction. The deal concluded a tense two-week negotiation that saw some developing countries walk out halfway through the talks in Montreal.
What's missing? As is often the case with big agreements at UN-sponsored global conferences, quantifiable targets for tracking progress over time — which might encourage some countries to be less ambitious.
Did businesses get what they wanted out of Montreal? Yes and no. (Watch this clip for some specific demands.)
Although the private sector had asked for universal mandatory disclosures on their impacts and dependencies on biodiversity, it’ll be up to individual countries to decide how far they want to go. “That said, disclosures will still ramp up quickly post-COP15,” says Eurasia Group analyst Franck Gbaguidi.
Some are upset that "nature-positive" didn't make it into the final text. We're referring to the movement that urges businesses to make money in a sustainable way that not only protects life on earth but actually reverses the course of its destruction.
On the one hand, its exclusion is "a bummer for those who expected it'd become the nature equivalent of 'net zero' carbon emissions," Gbaguidi explains. On the other, it's "good news for those who thought [nature-positive would be] used by companies to do some greenwashing activities due to the lack of a commonly agreed definition."
The upshot: Although COP15 was a mixed bag, biodiversity is set to become the second environmental priority for governments after climate change.
"Judging by the talks in Montreal, there will be a before and after COP15," says Gbaguidi. "This will materialize in the efforts of the international community to account for biodiversity risks, impacts, and dependencies from now on."
Reversing biodiversity loss by 2030: "We don't have a choice," says Magali Anderson
What does the world's No. 1 cement maker want from the COP15 biodiversity conference in Montreal, Canada?
First, a framework for companies. Second, a commitment to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, Magali Anderson, Holcim's chief sustainability and innovation officer, says during the livestream discussion "Time for nature: Turning biodiversity risk into opportunity," hosted by GZERO in partnership with Suntory.
"I think we just don't have a choice there. It's not even a question of a wishlist or whatever," she adds. "It's a question of do we want the planet to still be liveable for everything that's alive in 10 years or not. That's all it is about."
Don't miss Anderson's COP27 joke.
Learn more about this GZERO Media live discussion: https://www.gzeromedia.com/sustainability
Biodiversity loss: Is nature-positive the new net zero?
The world has been in a climate emergency for years now. But much less attention is paid to biodiversity loss — which is a very big deal since we're on the brink of a sixth mass extinction.
On the heels of the ongoing COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal, Canada, we gathered experts from the public and private sectors to discuss the gravity of the problem and, more importantly, how to fix it. The solution lies with businesses, although it needs help from policymakers to figure out how to make money in a sustainable way that not only protects life on earth but actually reverses the course of its destruction.
Here are a few highlights from "Time for nature: Turning biodiversity risk into opportunity," a livestream conversation hosted by GZERO in partnership with Suntory.
Ko Barrett, vice chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and senior adviser for climate at NOAA, offers a primer on the importance of biodiversity to human life and explains why we can't solve climate change without addressing biodiversity loss simultaneously.
Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer delves into the geopolitics of biodiversity as an economic issue and identifies the three types of risk companies face from biodiversity loss.
Suntory CEO Tak Niinami gives his take on why companies should do more to coexist with nature long-term and share their know-how to reverse biodiversity destruction.
Kathleen McLaughlin, Walmart's executive VP and chief sustainability officer, shares how retailers can work not only to conserve but also protect nature with successful examples from Walmart's Project Gigaton.
Ingrid Kukuljan, head of Impact & Sustainable Investing at Federated Hermes, laments how investors have ignored nature despite the many opportunities in public markets and dismisses metrics as the big obstacle to mobilizing more money for biodiversity.
FNZ Group sustainability chief Vian Sharif addresses greenwashing related to biodiversity and admits that the financial sector is only at the beginning of its nature-positive journey.
NatureMetrics CEO Katie Critchlow explains how her company "measures nature," which many people are not aware can actually be done.
International Council on Mining and Metals CEO Rohitesh “Ro” Dhawan shares how even extractive companies can have a positive impact on biodiversity via conservation, restoration, and data, and want governments to be more ambitious on this issue.
Magali Anderson, Holcim's chief sustainability and innovation officer, says that the world's biggest cement company wants two things from COP15: a framework for corporations and a commitment to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.
Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures technical director Emily McKenzie comments on why markets are ready to take action on biodiversity and gives an update on what's cooking with the TNFD.
Anthony Watanabe, chief sustainability officer at Indorama, gives a rundown of what his company is doing on nature-positive.
COP15 biodiversity wish list for the private sector
What does the private sector expect from the ongoing COP15 biodiversity conference in Montreal, Canada? Eurasia Group’s Franck Gbaguidi asked three experts during the livestream discussion "Time for nature: Turning biodiversity risk into opportunity," hosted by GZERO in partnership with Suntory.
Vian Sharif, head of sustainability at FNZ Group, wants the finance sector to get a set at the table.
Ingrid Kukuljan, head of impact and sustainable investing at Federated Hermes, would like to tweak subsidies and get started on regulation.
Katie Critchlow, CEO of NatureMetrics, hopes that COP15 will be the North Star for nature-positiveLearn more about this GZERO Media live discussion: https://www.gzeromedia.com/sustainability
- COP27 winners and losers ›
- What We're Watching: The end of Twitter (as we know it), climate reparations at COP27 ›
- What to expect from COP27: “It’s pretty grim” ›
- Biodiversity loss: Is nature-positive the new net zero? - GZERO Media ›
- Biodiversity loss: Is nature-positive the new net zero? - GZERO Media ›