Global Premiere of Nature Positive Summit Held in Sydney
Sydney has launched a groundbreaking nature-positive summit, marking a first of its kind. This event aims to bring together global leaders, experts, and advocates to discuss strategies and initiatives for environmental sustainability and positive ecological impact.
Over the three-day event, leaders from various sectors—including government, business, academia, environmental advocacy, and Indigenous communities—convened to tackle the pressing issues of global biodiversity decline and ecosystem degradation.
The summit, co-hosted by the Australian federal government and the New South Wales state government, was spearheaded by Australian Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, who presented a keynote address on Tuesday morning.
"This summit aims to accelerate collective action to drive investment in nature and strengthen activities to protect and repair our environment," she stated.
On the eve of the summit, a consortium comprising more than 20 Australian corporations and financial institutions, among them the national airline Qantas and retail powerhouse Wesfarmers, came together to establish Nature Positive Matters.
This new organization aims to promote nature-related reporting and data collection, facilitate pilot programs to support nature-friendly decision-making, and assist other businesses in taking action to safeguard and rehabilitate natural environments.
Plibersek mentioned on Tuesday that Nature Positive Matters would equip businesses with the tools to comprehend and assess their impacts on and reliance on nature.
"Until our businesses and economic decision makers are factoring the value of nature into our economic decision-making, until our economic settings change, nature will continue to go backwards," she emphasized during the summit.
Sophie Wagner for TROIB News