The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) launched its business and biodiversity assessment, including a Summary for Policymakers (SPM). As the Platform nears the end of its rolling work programme up to 2030, several of the decisions adopted at the 12th session of the Plenary mandate intersessional work to inform decisions on the Platform’s future, to be taken at the next Plenary session.
Key messages of the Methodological Assessment Report on the Impact and Dependence of Business on Biodiversity and Nature’s Contributions to People include:
- All businesses depend on and impact biodiversity.
- The current external conditions in which businesses operate are not always compatible with achieving a just and sustainable future.
- All businesses have a responsibility to address their impacts and dependencies on biodiversity.
- Creating an enabling environment can incentivize actions that are beneficial for businesses, biodiversity, and society.
The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) analysis of the meeting notes that the SPM “highlights alternative models and measures of economic welfare, such as bioeconomy, circular economy, degrowth, postgrowth, inclusive wealth, and de-coupling.” This, some hoped, “could help legitimize these ideas and bridge the growing gap between business-as-usual and scientific evidence on the alarming rate at which conventional economic paradigms erode the conditions for life on the planet.”
On intersessional work, delegates mandated the Bureau and its Multidisciplinary Expert Panel (MEP) to develop:
- A costed proposal for the implementation of the recommendations from the midterm review for consideration by IPBES 13;
- A holistic indicator framework, including performance and impact indicators, to monitor the implementation of the Platform’s work programme; and
- A proposal for the nature, topics, and timing of Platform deliverables across the work programme’s objectives.
ENB reports that at IPBES 12 delegates elected a new MEP. Its 25 members will serve a three-year term, beginning at the conclusion of IPBES 12, and provide scientific and technical advice to support the Platform’s work. “With many elections in multilateral environmental processes currently complicated by geopolitical tensions – once again evidenced during the Plenary meeting of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste, and Pollution (ISP-CWP) convening in parallel – observers were relieved to see the IPBES elections conclude without a hitch,” the ENB analysis highlights. A “look at the concurrent ISP-CWP session suggests that IPBES may be a more efficient and expeditious venue to develop a pollution report than a pollution panel currently lacking basic institutional arrangements,” it further notes.
During the session, ENB writes, “support also emerged for a synthesis report… that would leverage existing IPBES assessments to inform the implementation and monitoring of the [Kunming-Montreal] Global Biodiversity Framework” (GBF).
IPBES 12 convened from 3-8 February 2026, in Manchester, UK. On 2 February, the Platform’s Stakeholder Day convened to allow scientists, Indigenous Peoples, members of local communities, and representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs) and the private sector to network and exchange views on the IPBES 12 agenda items. [ENB Coverage of IPBES 12]