By expanding the scope of SBTs from tackling only climate change to tackling both the loss of nature and climate change, we can foster synergies between public and private sector action on these two fundamentally connected issues.
Neither issue can be solved without action on the other.
The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) is already helping businesses set ambitious science-based targets for climate, which will help reduce their companies’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This will also cut global emissions and can drive positive feedback loops for policy ambitions on climate change.
Figure: Combined “nature” and “climate” ambition loops, which collectively create stronger policy and voluntary action for both climate and nature; adapted from the concept of the climate ambition loop. Note that although we treat climate and nature as separate issues in this graphic, they are biophysically, politically, and economically intertwined.
Jennifer Morris, CEO, The Nature Conservancy; Watch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFnUGniMmgU
As the SBTN, we build on the momentum of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which has spurred nearly 5,000 of the world’s largest companies to set greenhouse gas emissions-reduction targets in line with climate science, as of May 2023. SBTi scaled up the process of corporate action by coming together to create a unified approach. The SBTN builds on SBTi’s scope by extending this approach to SBTs beyond climate with an initial emphasis on nature.
Nature focused SBTs as currently designed will allow companies to take action that aligns with a subset of the goals set out in the UN conventions on biodiversity (UNCBD), climate change (UNFCCC), land degradation (UNCCD), and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs).
A critical component of these societal goals for nature has now been finalized: the Global Biodiversity Framework (UNCBD) and its high-level goals for species, ecosystems, and “nature’s contributions to people”—the life-sustaining services that nature provides. This Framework defines our common goal to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030 and requires all large businesses and financial institutions to assess and disclose their risks, impacts and dependencies on biodiversity. The time for action is now.
A group of leaders from many organizations working with SBTN supports the following global goal for nature: “Nature-positive.”
As defined by this group, a nature-positive world requires no net loss of nature from 2020, a net positive state of nature by 2030, and full recovery of nature by 2050.
Societal goals have often resulted in trade-offs between social, economic, and environmental objectives, with environmental objectives often coming up short (Obura 2020; IPBES 2019a).
To ensure planetary health and human well-being, SBTs for nature must be aligned with global goals for sustainability and based on the best available science on Earth’s limits. To ensure we achieve this alignment, we are working with our Global Commons Alliance partner, the Earth Commission.
Action from companies on global sustainability goals is one piece of the puzzle, but SBTs for nature also strengthen voluntary sustainability efforts by explicitly tying target ambition levels to Earth’s limits.
The Earth Commission, also part of the Global Commons Alliance, is a group of leading social and natural scientists hosted by Future Earth to provide a global-scale assessment of the conditions that define a stable and resilient planet. The Commission is building on and going beyond previous scientific frameworks, such as the Planetary Boundaries (Rockström et al. 2009; Steffen et al. 2015) and has identified quantitative boundary conditions for biophysical systems such as biodiversity, freshwater, land, ocean, and climate as well as considering socioeconomic aspects, justice, and human well-being. Taking into account the complex interactions between the systems, in 2023, the Earth Commission launched a new breakthrough science assessment that defines and quantifies a “safe and just corridor” for human development. They have also assessed knowledge about social levers that can bring about a transformation toward a more sustainable world.
The “science” element of SBTs developed by the Earth Commission will provide critical inputs to the whole process of target setting, particularly Step 2: Interpret & Prioritize and Step 3: Measure, Set & Disclose. Further, the “translation” of the science into targets will be jointly developed by the SBTN and the Earth Commission.
