During the webinar on September 28, speakers from the CBD, EC DG FISMA, and EFRAG discussed current developments in UN and EU biodiversity policy and what this means for financial institutions.

On September 28, the EU Finance & Biodiversity Community and the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation organized a webinar on policy and regulation surrounding finance and biodiversity. Basile van Havre, Co-Chair of the CBD Open-Ended Working Group, shared information about the Global Biodiversity Framework that has been prepared for the global CBD COP15 negotiations in October 2021 and April/May 2022.

Jean-Christophe Nicaise Chateau of the European Commission (DG FISMA) and Patrick de Cambourg of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) provided participants with an update on a new European directive currently being developed to require companies to report on sustainability and other non-financial matters: the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). This upcoming regulation is relevant to financial institutions because they rely on the information companies report to engage in dialogue with them. And this information is relevant for assessing the sustainability impact of their portfolios.