On the occasion of the International Day of Biodiversity, 22 May 2024, Greenpeace announced it is organising a bicycle ride to draw attention to the importance of protecting and restoring nature and forests.
The tour, departing from Kirchberg and heading to Luxembourg’s Ministry of Finance via the Ministry of the Environment, is part of Greenpeace's international days of action for the protection of biodiversity. Faced with the climate crisis and the dramatic decline in biodiversity, many activists around the world are calling on governments to respect the commitments to protect and restore nature made with the Kunming-Montreal agreement, to stop those profiting off of nature destruction and to regulate banks and other financial institutions.
“The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was signed by 196 countries at the end of 2022, with objectives and concrete measures to stop and reverse the trend of decline in biodiversity by 2030,” explained Martina Holbach, responsible for the sustainable finance campaign at Greenpeace Luxembourg. “Yet, around the world, the protection of our foundations of life is being compromised thanks to the billions of private and public money that banks and governments are pumping into industries that contribute to the destruction of nature.”
According to a recent study, European banks have granted, since the 2015 Paris climate agreement, around €256 billion in credits to companies that risk destroying forests, savannahs and other natural ecosystems critical to the climate. The EU is the second global financial centre to finance these resource sectors.
Greenpeace emphasised it is calling on the Luxembourg government to commit to legislation that would stop financial flows to “ecocidal” companies and align the financial sector with international climate and biodiversity objectives. Banks and financial institutions must be regulated to redirect money towards activities that promote people’s well-being while protecting and restoring natural habitats and ecosystems, the organisation stressed.
“Protecting nature is essential to our overall survival. It must not be sacrificed for short-term profit,” continued Martina Holbach. “We depend on biodiversity because it provides us with food, medicine, energy, clean air and water, protection against natural disasters and moments of relaxation and inspiration cultural, and it supports all life systems on the planet. Forests and other intact natural areas are our safety net, protecting us from the effects of extreme weather and climate crises. We cannot fight global warming and ecological collapse while financing the destruction of nature.”
