Celebrated on 5 June each year, World Environment Day is a call for collective, transformative global action to protect and restore our planet. An outcome of the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment - which was commemorated last week during Stockholm+50 - World Environment Day provides an opportunity to reflect and accelerate action towards a healthy planet for the prosperity of all.
A holistic approach
The 1972 conference in Stockholm was the first formal recognition of the relationship between the environment and human prosperity, placing it at the forefront of the international agenda. Fifty years later and the messaging is even stronger; the loss of nature is a security issue for humanity. With an emphasis on transformative action, Stockholm+50 highlighted the urgent need to:
- Develop integrated solutions to climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution and equity, aligning biodiversity goals with the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
- Redefine value and develop new measures to incentivize businesses, financial institutions and civil society to restore and protect the environment, including a coherent harmonized system for transparency and accountability.
- Accelerate transformation of value chains and achieve sustainable production and consumption patterns by improving resource efficiency and promoting circularity.
The Ipieca-WBCSD SDG Roadmap for the oil and gas sector recognizes the interdependence of sustainable development issues, identifying over 90 transformative actions across three systemic themes of climate, nature and people to accelerate the realization of the SDGs. The nature section highlights how the oil and gas industry can embed circularity, natural capital and nature positive concepts into operations to conserve and restore biodiversity, promoting a healthier planet.
The 'Paris moment for biodiversity'
Signposted as the 'Paris moment for biodiversity', the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP CBD 15) will define the global goals for 'living in harmony with nature' by 2050.
Ipieca attended preparatory meetings of COP CBD, making interventions on behalf of its membership on the draft global biodiversity framework to help ensure it is as SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound) as possible and aligned with business priorities.
We are actively engaging with members, partners and the CBD Secretariat to prepare good practice and tools which will enable oil, gas and alternative energy companies to operationalize the framework as soon as it is launched at CBD COP15 later this year.
Collaboration is key
The call for strengthened collective action was prominent at Stockholm+50 - the issues on the sustainability agenda are too complex for any one company, sector or country to deal with alone. From convening the oil and gas sector around emerging environmental issues, to participating in cross sector initiatives and leading industry engagement with UN bodies, collaboration is at the heart of what Ipieca does.
