Financial institutions have a role to play in preserving biodiversity: COP negotiator
Financial institutions have a role to play in preserving biodiversity: COP negotiator
MONTREAL -
Canada's negotiators at the COP15 conference say business groups and financial institutions have a role to play in preserving the planet's biodiversity.
Basile van Havre, co-chair of one of the Montreal conference's working groups, says the private sector is looking for rules and certainty on the environmental effectiveness of its investments.
He says it's part of a larger push for performance standards that companies and investors can use to measure their activities against.
The conference, which is bringing more than 190 nations together, is entering its second day of hard talks on hard targets for saving the world's biodiversity.
Negotiators hope to reach an agreement on how to protect 30 per cent of Earth's land and water, as well as a deal on how to pay for that conservation.
Van Havre says business groups have learned from climate change discussions that they need a way to assess risks.
He points to a possible example of a company funding beef production that creates deforestation, which might not be a sustainable long-term investment.
"They want measures of risk so that they can target their investment the right way," van Havre said. "Guess what? That helps us."
Although there is broad support for the overall goals at the conference, consensus remains elusive.
Negotiators say about 900 so-called "brackets" -- points that haven't yet been agreed on -- remain in the draft text.
The conference runs until Dec. 19.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2020.
The Bank of Canada hiked its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point Wednesday, bringing it to 4.5 per cent. Here's a look at what the rate means, how analysts are interpreting it and what it could mean for consumers.
The federal government's latest TFSA contribution limit increase took effect as of January 1, 2023. Personal finance contributor Christopher Liew outlines how the government’s most recent TFSA contribution limit increase affects you and how to make the most of it.
Finding an affordable place to live in the territories, where housing has long been a challenge, is getting even harder, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation suggested in a report released in December. In Yellowknife, the report said, the growing senior population, urbanization and strong labour market has pressured the housing supply.
Canada is suffering from a severe skills shortage in several key sectors, experts say, thanks to factors that include deficiencies in our education system as well as changing demographics. CTVNews.ca looks at some of the skills that will be most in-demand in 2023.
Bond portfolios took a beating in 2022 as interest rates climbed, but experts say investors shouldn't neglect bonds this year as the Bank of Canada nears the end of its rate hike cycle.
Canadian investors who made it through a tumultuous 2022 face further uncertainty in the year ahead amid increased recession risk. Investment professionals and personal finance experts say the easiest way to grow your money this year is to keep things simple.
In early 2020, 25.1 per cent of Canadians received $2,000 from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, according to Statistics Canada. In his latest column on CTVNews.ca, personal finance contributor Christopher Liew explains how repayment works.
