The Nature Brief for Business.

The Big Picture

From regulatory shakeups to capital flows, nature is front and center across markets. Political resistance to sustainability laws is growing even as new financial tools and nature-based targets gain momentum. Companies face rising scrutiny over nature risks, while biodiversity credits and carbon markets continue to evolve.

Key movements this week:

• Corporate nature disclosure faces political pushback, even as supply chain traceability deepens.
• Carbon removal investments grow, but credibility and equity remain in the spotlight.
• Biodiversity finance and credit markets scale globally with new pilots and tech infrastructure.

Market Essentials

Finance: Capital for nature gains momentum, but equity concerns emerge.

• Brazilian reforestation firm re.green secured the country’s first biodiversity-labelled investment, with $14.1M from estate development bank BNDES. This represents a milestone in biodiversity finance innovation.
• The LEAF Coalition is rolling out advance payments for forest protection programs. The approach helps address cash flow barriers in conservation finance.
• Lloyds Bank has formed a team to support clients in carbon and biodiversity credit markets. This signals growing institutional interest in environmental credit services.

Reporting: Nature disclosure under pressure, as traceability gains ground.

• French President Macron has joined calls to scrap the EU’s CSDDD law, citing regulatory burden concerns. The move signals mounting political opposition to mandatory sustainability due diligence across value chains.
• Audits show improved traceability in Brazil’s beef supply chain, with JBS achieving high compliance. This underscores how transparency efforts are reshaping deforestation reporting obligations.
• Casino Group faces a $64.1M lawsuit linked to over 526,000 hectares of deforestation in Brazil. The case highlights legal and reputational risks from poor supply chain oversight.

Targets: Countries commit to biodiversity and financing goals

• Microsoft has committed to remove 18Mt of CO₂ through a deal with Rubicon Carbon. This is one of the largest corporate carbon removal deals to date.
• The UAE is scaling coral reef conservation with 4 million colonies planned by 2030. This is one of the largest ecosystem-specific restoration projects globally.
• Indonesia has formed a new committee to meet its goal of protecting 30% of marine areas by 2045. The effort includes a short-term 10% target by 2030 and spans 97.5 million hectares.

Trend Watch.

Biodiversity Credits: Market pilots and infrastructure scale globally.

• Italy will launch biodiversity credit pilot projects nationwide. Government-led exploration signals state interest despite lingering uncertainties.
• South Africa is set to debut a biodiversity offset portal to support financing. The platform is designed to boost market transparency and access.
• A new searchable database has launched to support biodiversity credit verification. It enables developers to monitor biodiversity and soil health performance.

Nature Tech: AI and data platforms enable smarter decisions.

• AI is being applied to land-use policy to enhance planning outcomes. The tech identifies previously overlooked environmental factors.
• A Nigerian teen tech team gained global recognition for its AI forest monitoring system, highlighting youth-led innovation in environmental tech.
• Thesium has created “Biodiversity in a Box,” a toolkit for evaluating offset feasibility. It supports infrastructure and energy developers managing biodiversity impacts.

Quick Hits.

Policy:

• Brazil and China to collaborate on reforestation.
• US government drops key climate risk assessment method.
• Brazil blacklists over 500 Amazon farms in deforestation probe.

People:

• Australia boosts Indigenous carbon projects.
• Indigenous knowledge and Western science explored in new conservation model.
• Structural barriers hinder Indigenous access to climate finance.

Your Take?

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