Pippa Howard, Chief Nature Strategist, reflects on Davos and the upcoming COP30, including why biodiversity loss is being deprioritised despite being ranked as the second most severe risk by decision-makers reported by the World Economic Forum's 2025 Global Risk report.
After the hottest year on record, the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos should have offered global leaders the opportunity to reaffirm their pledges to protect our climate, while building on the foundations of the Global Biodiversity Framework.
However, talk of progress was undoubtedly dampened by the incoming US administration's decision to rescind decades of environmental policy and progress by withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement.
We can't pretend that such geopolitical disruptions don't risk delaying essential progress in addressing climate and biodiversity loss. However, this cannot and should not stop the corporate leaders, both in the US and worldwide, who are determined to push their environmental strategies forward.
In response to the changes to US leadership, Johan Rockström, Earth System Scientist and Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, argued that it was essential to continue to phase out fossil fuels, invest in sustainable food systems, protect nature, and use resources efficiently.
He commented:
"These actions are not sacrifices, but opportunities to thrive within the Planetary Boundaries, ensuring stability, health, and prosperity for generations to come."
Indeed, many companies have directed significant resources to future-proof their businesses through developing clean technology, building sustainable supply chains, and protecting the environments in which they operate.
To abandon these long-term investments simply does not make sense for these businesses or the planet. A WEF report released last December found that unprepared companies could face a hit of up to 25% to their earnings by 2050 if they do not take measures to adapt to the effects of climate change.
As Jesper Brodin, CEO of the Ingka Group (IKEA), told Time magazine:
"The leading companies of the world are going through a couple of transformations—the tech transformation and the climate transformation. The train has left the station. The benefits are clear."
Reversing biodiversity loss must be a priority
However, despite the great strides organizations have made toward developing climate strategies, there are some signs that decision makers are not addressing nature and biodiversity loss with the same urgency.
WEF's 2025 Global Risk report, published earlier this month, shows worrying signs that biodiversity loss is seen as something that can be deferred: a problem for tomorrow, not today.
From 2010 to 2022, WEF's reports reflected the growing recognition that biodiversity loss is one of the most severe and likely risks of our times.
However, there is a concerning trend in this year's report, which now measures severity against short and long-term impact. While biodiversity loss is cited as the second severest risk by decision-makers over a 10-year period, it is not perceived as a priority in the short-term – languishing in 20th place.
The problem is that those next two years are vital to correcting the bend of nature. The window for mitigating biodiversity loss is closing fast. Many ecosystems are now at a tipping point where their decline will become irreversible, from Greenland's rapidly thawing ice sheets to the death of coral reefs home to a million different species.
These environments are inextricably linked to our climate. The earth's ability to absorb carbon is dependent on the health of its ecosystems. The land absorbs 31% of the carbon dioxide from our greenhouse gas emissions. Yet parts of the Amazon have been so badly damaged through deforestation and fires that they are now net emitters of carbon.
Simply put, addressing biodiversity loss cannot wait. As the WEF Risk Report authors note: "This dissonance in perceptions of urgency among key decision-makers implies sub-optimal alignment and decision-making, heightening the risk of missing key moments of intervention, which would result in long-term changes to planetary systems."
Climate and nature leaders understand they need to make a difference now, when it matters.
At Davos, we saw private companies call for a public environment that will protect the future of the global economy and the planet.
Transformation requires definitive, measurable action and commitment. At Davos, Microsoft explained how they have established an ecosystem of partners and collaborators to work towards genuine transformation. A record carbon removal agreement with BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG) will be delivered through a $1 billion reforestation and restoration strategy in Latin America.
Another example of nature leadership came from Holcim, a building material manufacturer. Understanding that cement production has an enormous carbon and biodiversity footprint, Holcim has partnered with various organizations, NGOs, enterprises and innovators to transform the built environment and the materials required for infrastructure.
Given the uncertainty the current US administration has caused around climate and environmental policy, we must leverage the right financing, partnerships, and science-backed approaches to curb biodiversity loss.
COP30 must mark a new axis in this fight, one driven by private innovation and greater multinational collaboration. Host Brazil's global diplomatic connections and approach to tackling deforestation of the Amazon could well set the tone for the next few pivotal years.
Key to those efforts will be access to truthful data and insights on the state of nature that allow organizations to understand what's happening on the ground now, so they can make a long-term impact. Solutions now enable us to measure nature at scale, identify the risks, and use deep scientific analysis to protect and restore ecosystems.
NatureMetrics can support companies through this journey, from collecting rich data to developing nature positive strategies.
Reversing biodiversity loss will not be easy. But those at the forefront of sustainable change know that investing in nature progress makes companies more resilient - resulting in outcomes for the planet, their people, and their bottom line.
His Royal Highness Prince William visited NatureMetrics' UK HQ and labs following our success at the 2024 Earthshot Prize, where we reached the finals of the "Protect & Restore Nature" category. The Prince, quoted by the BBC, remarked: “So much of what the environmental world needs right now is data. This is fantastic that you guys have got this ability to be able to tell us what’s really there.”
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