Biodiversity in crisis: How can we drive the transformation towards regenerative economies?

The Embassy of Switzerland in Japan and the Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan are pleased to announce the Switzerland - Japan Economic Forum, supported by Keidanren Nature Conservation Council (KNCC) and WIRED JAPAN.

The Economic Forum seeks to enhance awareness and understanding of biodiversity loss, its impact and the urgent need for action to regenerate nature and increase resilience. It brings together business, academic and government leaders from Switzerland and Japan to discuss how we can drive the critical transformation to a nature-positive economy. The Forum aims to showcase recent initiatives, demonstrate opportunities, inspire the research of innovative solutions and stimulate action.

Outline:

More than half of global economic output is dependent upon biodiversity and ecosystem services provided by nature. Yet, human activity and environmental degradation pushes ecosystems towards irreversible tipping points, posing systemic risks for economies.

There is an increasing sense of urgency and a growing momentum to take action. Switzerland and Japan were among 196 States adopting the historic Kunming Montreal Biodiversity Framework in late 2022. Dubbed the "Paris Agreement for Nature", it sets ambitious goals to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Targets include regulatory action to enable companies to monitor, assess and disclose their impacts on biodiversity, reduce related risks and promote sustainable consumption and production. For the first time, governments will review progress at a Conference in Colombia starting on 21 October 2024 (COP 16).

It makes sense for companies to proactively drive the unavoidable transformation towards a nature-positive economy. The World Economic Forum, which identifies ecosystem collapse as one of the top three global risks of the decade, argues that transition to nature-positive solutions can unlock annual business opportunities of 10 trillion US Dollars and generate 395 million jobs by 2030.

While the business case for action is clear, there is still a lack of appropriate means for companies to accurately measure, understand and account for risks, dependencies and impacts on biodiversity. With a view to facilitating economic transformation, the global Task Force on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures TNFD has released recommendations in late 2023. More than 100 companies from Switzerland and Japan have committed to start making such disclosures. Meanwhile, researchers and startups accelerate their efforts to provide new and innovative solutions to support companies in their efforts.

The Switzerland-Japan Economic Forum is part of the Swiss Vitality Days 2024, celebrating the 160th anniversary of bilateral relations between Switzerland and Japan, and takes place in the framework of Vitality.Swiss, Switzerland’s public diplomacy program on the road to Expo 2025 Osaka – Kansai.