The new task force in town: TNFD co-chair talks biodiversity goals

The world’s biodiversity is in peril and its loss poses big financial risks to businesses and the global economy. More than half of the world's economic output — or about $44 trillion — is moderately or highly dependent on nature, according to the World Economic Forum. Moreover, the collapse of biodiverse ecosystems could hurt global GDP by $2.7 trillion annually by 2030, the World Bank warns in a new report.

Until recently, biodiversity loss was rarely viewed as a substantial risk to corporations. But that is changing and a new task force has been formed to help companies and financial institutions better understand the scope of the risk. The Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, or TNFD, aims to create a voluntary framework that companies can use to assess their nature-related risks and opportunities.

In this episode, we talk with Elizabeth Mrema, who is co-chair of the TNFD, about the goals of the task force, how she envisions them being implemented and how biodiversity is inherently linked to climate change.