Biodiversity

The natural world possesses deep value that economic systems have been shunning for centuries. However, understanding and harnessing this natural capital is key to finding solutions to climate change. New Zealand is a prime example of how countries can integrate this concept within their business community and public institutions. In BBVA’s monographic study titled ‘Natural capital, curbing climate change’, you can learn more about the benefits and rewards of using natural capital as a means of improving social well-being.

The research undertaken by Mexican ecologists Gerardo Ceballos (National Autonomous University of Mexico) and Rodolfo Dirzo (Stanford University) in Latin America and Africa has shown that the current species extinction rates in many groups of organisms are much higher than throughout the preceding two million years, according to the committee of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Conservation Biology.

BBVA in Colombia has reached an agreement with Isagen to convert long-term finance of 368 billion pesos to sustainable loans linked to compliance with an environmental indicator. The index measures carbon emissions intensity in relation to energy generation as part of a pledge made by the power generation company to help preserve a more sustainable world.

BBVA’s Turkish unit has just renewed its $415 million syndicated loan based on environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG) criteria.

The protection of nature and its sustainable management is a matter of the very survival of the planet. Moreover, a growing number of financial institutions are becoming aware that this field offers a real opportunity. The deployment of long-term strategies, the role of investors and shareholders, and increasingly stringent regulation paint a brighter picture.

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Conservation Biology has gone in this fourteenth edition to the ecologists Lenore Fahrig, Simon Levin and Steward Pickett for incorporating the spatial dimension into ecosystem research.The three award winners have made fundamental contributions both to the development of the theory and mathematics of spatial ecology, and to its application to the design of nature reserve areas, wildlife management plans, as well as road networks and sustainable cities, according to the jury.

Of 8,300 known animal species, 8% are extinct and 22% are endangered. These United Nations figures place the planet on the brink of what some scientists now call "the sixth mass extinction." The impact of human action on ecosystems is causing many species to disappear, with irreversible harm to biodiversity and the environment.

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In the past five years, the social call to action to build a more sustainable world has spread at great speed, according to the BBVA Research report ‘Sustainability through the Lens of Big Data’. The study underscores that while climate change is still leading the conversation, biodiversity is emerging as the concept with the greatest growth —especially in Latin America— and it is expected to be one of the pillars that will mark the sustainability debate in the short and medium term.

The BBVA Foundation has recognized the work of Sandra Díaz, Sandra Lavorel, and Mark Westoby with the Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Ecology and Conservation Biology category has gone in this thirteenth edition to ecologists. The three researchers linked plant ecosystem function to their physical characteristics, and described how these broad traits relate together at global level.

Garanti BBVA launches ‘Garanti Portföy Temiz Enerji Karma Fon’, an innovative fund that invests in capital market instruments tied to Turkish and international companies in the sector of clean, renewable and alternative energy technologies.

In many ways, the coronavirus crisis marks a turning point in human behavior. One of the lessons this pandemic is teaching us is the essential need to change the way we interact with nature. “We will open the door to new pandemics if we continue maintaining a toxic relationship with nature,” states the ecologist Pedro Jordano. For the secretary of the jury for the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge in Ecology and Conservation Biology, biodiversity “works like a shock absorber”. If it is altered, “it leads to all kinds of problems,” like the spread of COVID-19.

Disruption has reached the meat industry. A group of companies in the biotechnology space has effectively developed meat made from plants or from the in vitro cultivation of animal cells.

Sustainability has dominated the headlines around the world for decades, and is only picking up speed. From achieving a sustainable future by local initiatives to campaigns by larger entities here in the U.S. and across the globe.

BBVA Compass has officially become the first Rio Grande Valley company to take the Lights Out RGV! pledge, which will include a reduction in lighting in corporate and larger area offices.

Gretchen Daily and Georgina Mace have been recognized with the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the category of Ecology and Conservation Biology for their visionary work combating the loss of species. They have developed tools that are invaluable for quantifying "nature’s value" thus facilitating science-based policies in support of the conservation of species. The jury panel commended not only their efforts in identifying the problem, but also their involvement in finding solutions.

Chris Hadfield was the first Canadian astronaut to live aboard the International Space Station, spending almost 4,000 hours in space. Hadfield is one of the most experienced and accomplished astronauts in the world; he was responsible for the shuttle´s communications during 25 launches, was NASA’s director of operations, chief of robotics at the Johnson Space Center, and chief of operations for the International Space Station. He also served as commander of the International Space Station where he led a record number of scientific experiments, in addition to becoming one of the most popular astronauts in history taking photos and recording educational videos about life in space, for which he has received much praise. His music video of his gravity-free version of David Bowie’s Space Oddity is his most popular video.

The impact of human action on biodiversity is a challez nge that remains unresolved. Numerous scientific studies confirm that these changes are causing the extinction of more and more species - the consequences of which are at least as severe as climate change. The work of civil society organization is essential to combat this phenomenon. This year, the BBVA Foundation once again sought to recognize the work of some of these organizations with its Biodiversity Conservation Awards.

For over a decade, the BBVA Foundation has promoted the fight against the two main environmental challenges our planet is facing today: climate change and the soaring loss of biodiversity.  The Foundation’s project to preserve the environment — presented at the BBVA Sustainable Finance Forum — falls within the scope of the bank’s commitment to sustainable development.

BBVA today announced its strategy around climate change and sustainable development, Pledge 2025. The strategy will help the bank meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and is in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Pledge 2025 will help the bank align its activity to a 2ºC Scenario and strike a balance between sustainable energy and fossil fuel investments and is based on three lines of action: financing, management and engagement.

Rosemary and Peter Grant have devoted 40 years of their lives to studying the finches of the Galapagos Archipelago, the birds that inspired Darwin’s theory of evolution. The couple´s work has allowed them to prove that evolution can take place at a much faster pace than previously believed; in less than a decade, the beaks and bodies of these birds can transform to adapt to environmental changes.

Europe’s banks want an active role for the financial sector in the fight against climate change. They are asking Brussels to draw up an urgent plan based on the recommendations of the European Union’s High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance.

ShareAction, one of the most important observers of responsible investing, has published a study on the 15 biggest European banks, analyzing how we manage the risks and opportunities related to climate change. This study follows the guide for investors on discussing climate change with their bank that was published a few months ago.

Big Data can play an important role in achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which the international community hopes to do by the year 2030. However, to reach this objective, more information and more public-private cooperation is needed.

“Conserving nature is not a luxury, it’s a necessity,” Group Executive Chairman Francisco González said at the ceremony for the BBVA Foundation’s annual awards to the best biodiversity conservation projects in Spain and Latin America.

The Conference on the United Nations Convention on Climate Change is currently taking place in Bonn, from Nov. 6-17. At a side event hosted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), BBVA was invited to share its approach to green finance.

Climate change is one of the greatest problems facing humanity. Abrupt temperature changes, famine, disease and floods are all evidence that changes in the climate are not a myth. The consequences could get worse if we do not manage to reduce the greenhouse effect, as Matthew Liao warns in his book The Next Step: Exponential Life. It can be downloaded at no charge  on BBVA’s website for the OpenMind project.

Due to the ever-growing demand for green products and services, eco-friendly companies are starting to pursue business opportunities in the Spanish economic landscape. These companies are committed to the generation of sustainable wealth and respect for the environment.

In a report entitled The Future of Football, Futurizon predicts that in the future, sports events will be broadcast using tiny drones capable of hovering a few inches above the playing field, swirling around spectators or chasing the ball in the air. Except for referees, players and coaches, ordinary spectators have always enjoyed these events from architectural points of view:  the stands or the sides of the pitch. And, even if we don’t realize it yet, narratives have also depended on these points of view. What would happen if the perspective changed? Would it be possible to televise a match exactly as the referee sees it? Would that be of any interest at all? Or telling what an embedded drone observes?

Technological capital, human capital, regulatory capital and social capital… all are dimensions that the science of economics measures and includes in its analyses. Cultural capital is not a common concept in this science, however. But Timothy Besley, Professor at the London School of Economics (LSE) feels it is fundamental as a conditioning aspect of the economic activity of any organization, institution or country.

BBVA Data & Analytics, BBVA’s center of excellence in financial data analysis, has announced today that it is joining the “Data for Climate Action” challenge hosted by Global Pulse, a United Nations innovation initiative on big data.