In an open letter, CEOs of Suzano, Unilever, H&M, Natura & CO., Yara and seven other companies called on governments to take significant and concerted action to preserve nature. The objective is clear: to avoid a collapse in the planet’s biodiversity and the extinction of raw materials that are the base of these companies and, therefore, drive the economy.

In the letter, Business for Nature coalition said the goals contained in the draft Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework – a UN Parisian agreement for nature – do not go far enough to halt the destruction we see today. The document proposes eliminating pollution from plastic, reducing pesticide use by two-thirds and halving the rate of introduction of invasive species.

Companies ask in the document that governments adopt policies to reverse natural losses by 2030. The document signed by the CEOs states that the conference on biodiversity, COP15, is the best chance to reverse the loss of natural ecosystems.

According to the executives, maintaining the environment is essential for the success of the Paris Agreement, in which countries pledged to take actions to maintain the Earth’s temperature at up to 1.5ºC.

However, it is necessary to look further and see that, while fundamental to combating climate change, nature represents more than simply a climate solution.

According to a 2020 Swiss Re report, more than half of the world’s annual GDP depends on high-functioning biodiversity, and that one-fifth of the world’s countries are at risk of ecosystem collapse. This data has led businesspeople to call on governments to eliminate all environmentally harmful subsidies in order to incorporate nature’s economic value into decision-making.