Urgent Call for Businesses to Tackle Biodiversity Loss as Economic Threat, IPBES Report Warns
February 9, 2026
The report warns that ignoring nature-related risks could trigger catastrophic economic fallout without reforms.
The report calls for immediate action within an enabling environment shaped by policy, finance, social norms, technology, data, and capacity, stressing collaboration among governments, financial institutions, civil society, Indigenous communities, and consumers.
Transformative change is urged: phase out harmful subsidies, mandate biodiversity reporting, align finance with conservation, secure FPIC for Indigenous communities, redefine success beyond GDP, reform finance for restoration, and integrate Indigenous knowledge into planning.
A landmark IPBES report warns that all businesses rely on biodiversity even as they degrade it, framing biodiversity loss as a systemic risk to the economy, financial stability, and human wellbeing.
The Global Assessment reframes nature loss as an immediate economic risk and urges companies to act now to preserve nature as the foundation of future prosperity.
Key measures include boosting efficiency, reducing waste and emissions, and enacting policy, regulatory, financial, social, and technological reforms to enable meaningful corporate action beyond voluntary commitments.
Experts call for context-specific measurement approaches that combine site-level data with portfolio- and value-chain methods, and stronger engagement with science and Indigenous knowledge.
Barriers include short-term profit focus, lack of mandatory disclosure, data gaps, and underintegration of Indigenous and local knowledge.
Steart Marshes in Somerset illustrate how farming and conservation can collaborate: cattle grazing supports habitat, flood banks protect villages, and wetlands sequester carbon while reducing pollution.
Businesses should adopt actions that increase efficiency, cut waste and emissions, and pursue stewardship to lower environmental impact.
Pressure from the shift to green energy includes mining for minerals used in solar panels, wind turbines, and EV batteries on Indigenous lands, sometimes without consent, fueling conflicts.
UK stakeholders urge clear metrics and practical toolkits to help businesses integrate biodiversity protection into operations.
Summary based on 12 sources
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Sources

BBC News • Feb 9, 2026
Ipbes report: Nature loss could spell extinction for businesses
EurekAlert! • Feb 9, 2026
Businesses can either lead transformative change or risk extinction: IPBES
Inter Press Service • Feb 9, 2026
A Business Necessity: Align With Nature or Risk Collapse, IPBES Report Warns
Down To Earth • Feb 9, 2026
Businesses are destroying the very natural systems they depend on to survive: IPBES Report