Jefferies Warns of New ESG Risk in Push for Biodiversity Rules

The asset management industry risks being wrong-footed by a wave of regulations designed to protect biodiversity, according to an analysis by Jefferies International Ltd.

“Investors be aware,” Luke Sussams, ESG strategist at Jefferies, wrote in a note to clients.

The warning comes roughly a month after a landmark deal was struck at the COP15 biodiversity summit in Montreal, at which negotiators set a goal of shielding 30% of the world’s natural assets by 2030. The agreement means that the finance industry, which currently devotes far fewer resources to biodiversity than to climate strategies, will need to dramatically expand its ...