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ARTICLE · 23 OCTOBER 2026

Five Biodiversity Themes Businesses Should Watch At COP17

Gowling WLG
Gowling WLG
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As COP17 approaches in Yerevan, Armenia, businesses face a critical juncture in biodiversity action. With the first global review of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework revealing progress falling behind schedule, five key themes are emerging that will shape corporate nature strategies: integrating natural capital into operational resilience, accelerating delivery beyond ambition-setting, mobilizing private finance at scale, building evidence-based credibility, and managing long-term

United KingdomEnvironment
Ben Stansfield
Ben Stansfield
Helen Emmerson
Helen Emmerson
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Last month, decision-makers, government representatives, investors and businesses gathered at Climate Week NYC 2026. Discussions covered energy, infrastructure, finance, technology and resilience, but nature and biodiversity were also central to the conversation. Natural capital and nature risk/resilience featured alongside supply chains, investment and long-term growth, reflecting a wider focus on how businesses both affect and depend on nature.

Attention now turns to COP17, the 17th UN Biodiversity Conference, taking place in Yerevan, Armenia, from 19 to 30 October 2026. It will conduct the first global review of collective progress towards implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). Agreed at COP15, the KMGBF contains four long-term goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030, covering conservation and restoration, sustainable use, finance and the fair sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources. The newly published global progress report, "State

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