Find out how you can play a role in helping the world transition to a sustainable global economy.
Biodiversity is fundamental to maintaining natural cycles of weather, stable ecosystems and life on earth. But climate change, extensive human development and rising pollution levels are increasingly contributing to loss of natural habitats. This has resulted in a sharp decline in earth's biodiversity.
Infographic source: UN Environmental Programme, World Economic Forum, World Bank, HSBC Global Private Banking as at 14 February 2022
Population sizes of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles have gone through an alarming drop with up to 1 million species threatened with extinction, many within decades. More than 85 per cent of wetlands that existed since the 18th century were lost by the start of the 21st century1. This rapid loss of biodiversity poses a significant risk for global economic activity and threatens the sustainable livelihoods of humanity. The potential impact could be disastrous. By 2030, half the world can expect to face severe water stress2; food production could be disrupted and the global economy could lose over USD2.7 trillion – a drop of 2.3 per cent in global GDP3.
At HSBC, we are at the forefront of helping our clients strive for a sustainable future. By exploring powerful new solutions that are being developed to harness, regenerate and protect biodiversity, we hope to open up a world of opportunity for investors to make tangible impact in the battle against climate change.
Supporting our clients on their ESG journey and unlocking new climate solutions are just two of the three key strategies in achieving our ambition to be the leading bank for the transition to net zero. HSBC also aims to reduce carbon emissions from its operations and supply chains to net zero by 2030 or sooner, and to align the carbon emissions of its portfolio of customers to the Paris Agreement goal to achieve net zero by 2050 or sooner. The Bank remains committed to invest USD100 million in clean technology through its dedicated venture debt fund and launch a USD100 million philanthropic programme to help scale climate innovation.4
Join us in our efforts to create a more sustainable future.
1 Source: UN Environmental Programme, World Economic Forum, World Bank ↩
2 Source: UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), https://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/scarcity.shtml ↩
3 Source: World Bank Group, “The Economic Case for Nature”, published in 2021 ↩
4 https://www.hsbc.com/who-we-are/our-climate-strategy/hsbc-climate-plan-explained ↩