The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) has announced its executive director and the unveiling of a Development Finance Hub, after its official launch in June.
Tony Goldner, former Deloitte consulting partner and World Bank adviser, has been appointed executive director, TFND secretariat.
Aiming to create a framework by 2023 that helps businesses assess nature-related risks and opportunities, the secretariat has been comprised of a globally distributed team hosted by the Green Finance Institute (GFI) and supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).
The secretariat will report to TNFD co-chairs, David Craig, who was former CEO and founder of Refinitiv and strategic advisor to London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), and Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, United Nations assistant secretary general and executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat.
The TNFD currently has around 30 members but the individual members of the Taskforce and the composition of the broader consultative network of supporting institutions, to be known as the TNFD Forum, will be announced later this month.
See also: – Q&A: Getting to grips with nature-related disclosures
Furthermore, the TNFD announced the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is to lead and convene a ‘Development Finance Hub’, which will be one of several research collaboration networks supporting the work of the Taskforce.
Executive director, TNFD secretariat Goldner commented on his new role and portfolio: “It is a great honour to be leading the secretariat of the TNFD. We have a hugely important and urgent task ahead to help financial institutions, corporates and service providers better evaluate risks derived from dependencies and impacts on nature. Our challenge is to develop a set of guidance materials that are robust in achieving more nature-positive outcomes whilst also practical to implement as a management decision making tool and a global market-led disclosure and reporting framework.”
Much like the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) on which it is based, the TNFD will consult a variety of stakeholders to create uniform but voluntary disclosures to help corporates, investors, lenders and insurance underwriters manage nature-related risks, such as new legal liabilities and systemic loss of soil fertility.
In the May issue of ESG Clarity digital magazine, focused on biodiversity, many commentators welcomed the TNFD with Rathbone Greenbank Investments head of investments John David saying he was “excited to see what will transpire”.
