The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) welcome the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)’s decision to proceed with standard-setting on nature-related risks and opportunities, drawing on the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework, where relevant to meet investor information needs. This marks a significant step toward ensuring that nature is fully integrated into global sustainability disclosure standards.

Nature and biodiversity underpin economic resilience and societal well-being. By embedding nature-related considerations into corporate and investment decision-making, ISSB’s initiative responds to growing investor demand for consistent, comparable information on nature-related risks and opportunities. The approach will build on existing ISSB Standards and leverage TNFD’s recommendations, metrics, and guidance, including the LEAP approach, to reduce fragmentation and promote global alignment.

The ISSB will agree on its approach to standard-setting in the coming months - with options including a mix of application guidance or amendments to existing ISSB Standards, industry-based guidance, additional sources of guidance, or a new standard - and targets to have an Exposure Draft ready by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP17 meeting in October 2026. This work will be subject to public consultation in accordance with the IFRS Foundation’s due process, ensuring transparency and stakeholder engagement. 

UNDP and BMUKN are pleased that the IFRS BEES research project, supported by both organizations and by TNFD, contributed to these efforts by identifying common investor information needs on biodiversity, ecosystems, and ecosystem services (BEES). This research has helped inform ISSB’s decision to introduce incremental disclosure requirements that address gaps in current standards and strengthen market resilience.

Midori Paxton, UNDP Nature Hub Director stated,“Once nature-related risks are disclosed, they are priced, and capital begins to shift, because businesses understand that nature has become a core strategic issue for their operations and financial viability.  With consistent global standards, we can mobilize far greater private finance for nature, strengthen alignment with the SDGs, and expand opportunities to help countries build capacity and integrate these standards into forward-looking, nature-positive, resilient development pathways.”

Elke Steinmetz, BMUKN Head of Division on International Cooperation on Biodiversity stated, “We welcome the recent international developments on nature-related disclosure, including the ISSB´s work drawing on the TNFD framework. Biodiversity underpins economic resilience – improving how organizations assess and disclose their risks and opportunities on nature is essential for biodiversity action. This development supports more robust global action to address biodiversity loss while providing markets with science-based information that is useful for decision-making.”

ISSB Executive Technical Director, Himani Phadke said: “Our research concluded that the ISSB has an opportunity to help companies meet the information needs of investors on nature-related risks and opportunities, whilst further reducing fragmentation in the disclosure system and driving efficiencies. We welcome TNFD’s support for our work and their decision to pause the commencement of any further technical work, a decision that has also been warmly welcomed by stakeholders.”

This decision will also create consistency across markets, making reporting on nature clearer and reducing confusion for companies operating in multiple jurisdictions. Since 2022, UNDP and the IFRS Foundation have been collaborating through a Partnership Framework for Capacity Building, followed by a Letter of Intent in 2024, to advance convergence of sustainability reporting standards for market alignment. Currently, they continue cooperation through the IKI-supported “Enabling and Scaling up Market Adoption of Nature-related Financial Disclosures” project and the UNDP’s Sustainability Disclosure and Management Hub (SDMH). 

UNDP and BMUKN remain committed to supporting global efforts to integrate nature into financial systems, in line with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and ensuring that nature-positive finance becomes a cornerstone of sustainable development.

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For more information:

Media Contact:

Gabriela Goldman, Communications Specialist, UNDP
Gabriela.Goldman@undp.org

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