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Investment strategies and effective solutions to protect biodiversity were the focus of the first Global Asset Owner Meeting. The meeting was organized by a consortium of which FERI is a member. High-ranking representatives of international asset owners came together in Frankfurt to develop a “Biodiversity for Investors” action plan. “Our common mission is to create a framework for the implementation of biodiversity investments that help protect and restore ocean and land ecosystems,” emphasized Antje Biber, Head of FERI SDG Office and largely responsible for the organization of the summit. "The Global Asset Owner Meeting is not just another ESG event. Only international investors and selected specialists in the field of biodiversity investments are invited. The Chatham Rules also apply. This encourages an open exchange and enables participants to learn from each other and develop solutions together in a private atmosphere."
Biodiversity provides over 50% of global economic output and human livelihoods. 60% of CO2 emissions are absorbed by marine or terrestrial ecosystems, 50% of oxygen is produced by the ocean. 75% of crops depend on pollination by insects. In addition, nature provides a substantial source of important medicines. However, of the eight million species worldwide, over 25% are threatened with extinction due to climate change. “Biodiversity is an economic necessity,” says Marcel Lähn, Chief Investment Officer at FERI. “I am therefore delighted that with the Global Asset Owner Meeting, together with our consortium partners, we have created a platform that enables international cooperation to promote biodiversity.”
The Global Asset Owner Meeting supports global initiatives such as the “30x30” target to protect 30% of the planet's nature by 2030 or the EU Nature Conservation Act of 2023. The measures that need to be implemented at an operational level to support biodiversity are capital-intensive. This creates new attractive investment opportunities in a variety of asset classes and vehicles for global investors. "The need for investment is great. For us asset owners, it has become clear that there are already a large number of investment opportunities that simultaneously fulfill the topic of biodiversity and our economic requirements. We now need to develop and implement these together,” says Martin Roth, President of ASIP Swiss Pension Fund Association and co-organizer of the Global Asset Owner Meeting.
The two-day meeting brought together over 80 decision-makers from around the world. Global asset managers such as pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, financial institutions as well as large private investors and family offices shared valuable insights and best practices and developed concrete measures and frameworks aimed at channeling capital into biodiversity-enhancing projects. The event provided a platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration to develop sustainable solutions that support both economic and environmental goals. “The action plan developed is a first milestone on the basis of which the compatibility of economic objectives of investments and the protection of biodiversity is firmly anchored and which also serves as a guideline for the already announced continuation of the event,” summarizes Dr. Marcel Lähn, who also gave the opening speech.
The consortium is made up of leading international players on the institutional investor side and is supported by political decision-makers and institutions. In addition to FERI and the FERI Cognitive Finance Institute, the organizers include the Swiss Pension Fund Association ASIP, the Federal Initiative for Impact Investing, the Blue Marine Foundation, the European Commission and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.