近年来，银行对他们对环境破坏性行业的持续财政支持面临越来越多的批评，但是通过调整其做法，它们可能成为解决森林砍伐和全球栖息地破坏的解决方案的关键一部分。
That is the core message this month from research by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), which outlines a set of five key actions banks and other financial firms can take to help respond to the biodiversity and climate crises, de-risking their investments in the process.
Released in mid-January, the report from CISL's Centre for Sustainable Finance focuses on soft commodities, such as palm oil, soy, beef and timber products, which are responsible for most deforestation worldwide caused by commercial agriculture.
Banks often provide finance and financial services to companies along these supply chains, indirectly contributing to deforestation and land-use change, which make up the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions after the burning of fossil fuels. In 2019,森林砍伐负责全球排放量的11％, and growing demand for land for palm oil, cattle and soy production continues to drive destruction of critical forests and habitats worldwide. Banks often support commercial agricultural firms responsible for these activities through loans, trade finance, bond and fund structuring, capital raising and project finance.
由于它们在为农业公司提供财政支持方面的作用，他们可以充当经济激励措施的中介机构，以增加无森林砍伐和森林折磨的软商品的供应。
但是CISL的报告认为，正是金融服务在全球供应链中的这种软商品的定位也意味着银行非常适合支持活动，这些活动可以阻止（甚至可以逆转）森林砍伐。
Due to their role in offering financial support for agricultural firms, they can act as intermediaries for financial incentives that can increase the supply of deforestation-free and forest-restorative soft commodities, according to the report. That is because they have access to both businesses along the soft commodities supply chain and impact investors looking to tackle global challenges, as well as risk assessment expertise and data about client operations.
但是，CISL可持续金融中心主任尼克·维利尔斯（Nick Villiers）警告说，这种潜力尚未完全实现，并且在本地和全球银行及其客户之间迫切需要更多的协作，以帮助推动可能停止森林砍伐的变化。他说：“我们的行动计划映射了银行可以在解决森林砍伐方面发挥独特的作用，并旨在促进银行业及其他地区的进一步行动。”“通过共同行动，银行可以帮助经济重新连接，动员和构建融资，从而支持无森林砍伐和森林恢复性的软商品生产。”
CISL's report came asthe U.K. this month joined more than 50 countries worldwide为了在2030年保证保护30％的土地和海洋，这是在法国，联合国和世界银行主办的一个星球峰会上宣布的高野心联盟和人民的一部分。此外，威尔士亲王公布了新的“ Terra Carta”宪章旨在鼓励企业同意在未来十年内采取一系列雄心勃勃的行动，以打击气候和自然破坏。该倡议还得到了一项新的自然资本投资联盟的资产经理联盟，旨在到2022年朝这个方向付款100亿美元的资本分配。
While hopes are high that such moves can help catalyze more ambitious, concerted action to avert the rapid, escalating declines nature and wildlife worldwide at the vital upcoming COP15 U.N. biodiversity summit to be hosted in China this year, such efforts have been met with skepticism given the ongoing failure of the international community and corporates to meet existing biodiversity and deforestation targets.
Despite the U.N. declaring a "decade of biodiversity" from 2011 to 2020, not one of the 20 global targets agreed by nations worldwide a decade ago have been met, prompting Swedish activist Greta Thunberg to argue slow progress on the issue threatens to lock in "decades of further destruction."
Ineffective voluntary commitments are not working — there needs to be real accountability for the financial institutions that are bankrolling deforestation and forest-related human rights abuses.
Meanwhile, it has been estimated thatevery six seconds a football pitch-sized area of primary forest is lost, with corporates having fallen badly short of meeting a到2020年提供零森林砍伐的高档目标。同时，冠状病毒危机与去年联合国召集的自然和世界顶级科学家的破坏和世界顶级科学家有关警告世界是一个“大流行时代”as a result of the ongoing degradation of natural habitats.
CISL的报告还强调，有一个令人信服的经济案例可以恢复自然生态系统，因为全球GDP超过50％依赖于自然提供的服务，包括淡水，健康的土壤和清洁空气。然而，这种自然资源正面临着急剧下降的幅度，导致许多企业的风险和成本增加。
因此，本月的新报告敦促银行在制止栖息地和森林破坏的下降方面发挥积极作用，强调他们成为解决日益严重问题的解决方案的一部分，而不是等待政治，公共和监管压力来限制措施下降森林砍伐。和银行还没有充分追踪和减轻森林砍伐，承担了其投资和财政支持的风险，它认为采取行动与供应链和更广泛的行业中的其他人合作以减少森林砍伐可以帮助降低成本并加速采用最佳实践。
在其五个关键建议中，该报告呼吁银行与既定标准，提高可追溯性，结构融资来使他们的反伪造政策保持一致，以激励无森林砍伐的实践，设定可衡量的目标，以解决问题并通过C-Suite责任负责任的团队为了实现这些时间限制的目标。
Simon Connell, head of sustainability strategy at banking giant Standard Chartered and chair of CISL's Banking Environment Initiative, said the action plan provide the wider banking industry with "a way to engage with tangible methods for collective action on deforestation."
该报告标志着软商品紧凑型项目的结晶，这是CISL银行环境计划与消费品论坛（CGF）之间的联盟。该联盟的成立是为了找到协助银行业与CGF的野心保持一致的方式，以推动到2020年推动零净森林砍伐。
然而，firms in the CGF — including those signed up to the Compact — have failed to meet他们的2020目标。因此，该报告吸引了一些绿色运动者的批评，他们强调了自愿行业措施的持续失败，例如在全球农业供应链中打击森林砍伐，生物多样性损失和人权侵犯时，软商品紧凑。
Jo Blackman, head of forest policy and advocacy at Global Witness, said the Compact had "clearly failed to rein in" banks financing of deforestation, and called for greater accountability, regulation and governance to ensure compliance with existing regulations and a renewed effort to meet deforestation goals.
尚未成立各种各样的银行和其他利益相关者，需要制定行动计划。该计划旨在促进银行和利益相关者采取行动。
"Ineffective voluntary commitments are not working — there needs to be real accountability for the financial institutions that are bankrolling deforestation and forest-related human rights abuses," she said. "While we welcome the report's call for government regulation to ensure mandatory due diligence on deforestation risks in supply chains, banks cannot be let off the hook."
尽管如此，CISL的报告仍指出，在森林砍伐政策方面，采用契约的12个银行是最先进的，所有这些银行都位于森林500名排名中的150家金融机构中的前30名。此外，它强调，本周概述的建议旨在成为该行业的“起点”，CISL在整个2021年寻求利益相关者的进一步行动。
"The diverse group of banks and other stakeholders needed to deliver the action plan has yet to be formed," it states. "This Plan aims to catalyze banks and stakeholders toward action. During 2021, CISL will seek expressions of interest from the wider financial sector, corporates, NGOs, policymakers and funders to together develop and implement the action plan."
在过去的十年中，政府和公司持续的失败旨在实施森林砍伐承诺，强调了对自愿承诺进行监管的困难，并确保公司被关押。它表明，自愿目标需要伴随着更强大的自上而下的监管措施，例如，从英国和欧盟最近采取的欢迎行动，以削减与森林砍伐相关的公司。
但是，正如CISL所强调的那样，由于森林砍伐仍然对行星和经济健康构成重大威胁，尤其是在冠状病毒危机之后，银行不应等待政府采取步骤来在整个投资组合中增强森林保护。随着本周的报告制定了一个明确的计划，使银行立即采取有意义的步骤来解决森林砍伐，因此几乎没有借口继续无所作为。
