US: Federal Government’s Biodiversity Agenda Following COP15

While the United States is not a party to the Montreal Convention, it was an active participant in the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) held in Montreal from December 7-19, 2022, and has announced a number of significant biodiversity-related initiatives to prioritize the measurement, growth, protection, and renewal of natural resources.  

The Office of Science and Technology defines natural assets or natural capital stocks as “durable physical or biological elements of nature that persist through time and contribute to current or future economic production, human enjoyment, or other services people value.”  In particular, the federal government’s natural capital accounting initiative would allow government and community stakeholders to use environmental-economic statistics to measure the value and quantity of natural assets over time.  

Key Federal Biodiversity Initiatives

1     GEF Funding

In April 2022, the United States pledged $600.8 million over the course of four years to support the eighth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility (GEF-8).  The GEF is the world’s primary multilateral source of biodiversity finance and is available to provide funding to private sector companies looking to take on environmental or climate change projects including nature-based solutions. 

2     Natural Capital Accounting

In April 2022, the President signed an Earth Day Executive Order creating a Natural Capital Account initiative which will facilitate private sector contributions to the environmental economy by providing data about the economic value of natural assets in order to improve federal regulations and private sector decision making.  The White House also published a roadmap for nature-based solutions in November 2022 to complement the Natural Capital Account initiative in guiding companies seeking sustainable nature-based solutions.

In January 2023, following the Earth Day Executive Order, the Biden Administration produced the National Strategy To Develop Statistics for Environmental Economic Decisions to address the connection between natural resources and the economy, and the effects of climate change on both.  Statistics about natural resources will be collected in “Natural Capital” accounts and made available in the broader U.S. economic statistical system to inform private sector decisions.  The U.S. approach to natural capital accounts is meant to “increase U.S. private sector competitiveness by making it substantially easier for firms to expand environmental reporting by providing a benchmark data series and structure.”

3     Sustainable Fishing

In June 2022, President Biden signed a National Security Memorandum joining the United Kingdom and Canada in launching the IUU Fishing Action Alliance to combat unregulated fishing and other unsustainable fishing practices.  Private companies will face newer and more stringent regulations around fisheries and the use of illegal labor on fishing vessels.  The United States has pledged to take urgent action to improve the monitoring, control, and surveillance of fisheries.

4     Eco-crime  

The United States co-developed the Nature Crime Alliance in September 2022 to combat criminal forms of logging, mining, wildlife trade, land conversion, and associated illicit activities internationally. The Alliance consists of eleven countries working together within political and legal networks to strengthen the monitoring and enforcement of such “nature crimes.”

Companies should continue to closely monitor the latest developments in US environmental policy relating to biodiversity and nature-based solutions as they develop in the wake of the 2022 Montreal Conference.