EU Progress Report: milestones and obstacles in global biodiversity efforts
What the EU’s latest biodiversity assessment means for policy, markets and business strategy
With the publication of its Seventh National Biodiversity Report on 12 February 2026, the European Union presents an interim assessment of its progress in implementing the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). The report shows that the EU has made substantial headway on several targets and has already met two of the framework’s 45 global objectives. It also underscores that implementation efforts in the Member States must be further strengthened to ensure full achievement of all 45 KMGBF targets by 2030.
At the same time, the report confirms that the EU, together with its Member States, continues to play a key role in financing global biodiversity action. It highlights the Union’s significant efforts, supported by a comprehensive legal and policy framework for the protection, restoration and sustainable use of ecosystems within the EU. An important example is the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, which translates one of the Union’s most important biodiversity commitments into binding measures. Its aim is to restore degraded ecosystems in order to enhance water and food security and improve the protection of populations against climate‑related risks.
New initiatives to support the implementation of biodiversity targets
To further strengthen and refine its biodiversity policy, the EU launched several cross‑sectoral initiatives in 2025. These include:
- The EU Water Resilience Strategy, aimed at protecting and restoring the water cycle;
- The European Ocean Pact, which consolidates EU ocean policies to restore ocean health;
- The new Bioeconomy Strategy, promoting a clean, competitive and resilient bio‑based economy across agriculture, forestry, fisheries, aquaculture and biotechnologies, as well as related sectors such as food processing and retail;
- A roadmap for nature credits, designed to stimulate and incentivise private investment in nature.
These initiatives aim to support transformative approaches in water, ocean and land management, while embedding nature‑based innovation within markets. The roadmap for nature credits is considered a key instrument for opening up new sustainability‑related financial markets. Work is currently being advanced by an expert group, supported by several pilot projects intended to test different approaches in practice and build a robust evidence base.
Nature Loss as a Systemic Risk
The publication of the EU report is accompanied by a recent international assessment: the IPBES Business and Biodiversity Assessment, released on 10 February 2026 and endorsed by more than 150 governments. It warns that the accelerating loss of nature is becoming a systemic risk for economies, supply chains and financial stability. The assessment makes clear that businesses are connected to biodiversity in two fundamental ways: every economic activity depends on functioning ecosystems and every activity, in turn, affects these natural systems.
Global economic structures rely heavily on healthy ecosystems. This includes access to raw materials and water, climate stability and the cultural and tourism‑related value these ecosystems generate. At the same time, the findings highlight that decades of unsustainable growth have significantly weakened these foundations. As a result, the continued decline of biodiversity is emerging as a growing risk with direct implications for supply chains, financial markets and entire economies.
Companies should take the next steps
The European regulatory framework for the protection and restoration of biodiversity is robust and increasingly embedded in both economic and financial policy. For companies, this means that implementation should not be postponed but actively advanced. Biodiversity must be understood as an integral part of risk management, strategic planning and corporate reporting. Those who act early strengthen their own resilience, meet regulatory requirements and secure long‑term competitive advantages.
Looking ahead, companies should focus on integrating biodiversity considerations across governance structures, mapping and assessing their nature‑related impacts and dependencies and aligning their corporate strategies with broader efforts to advance nature‑positive transformation across sectors. By embedding biodiversity into operational decision‑making and investment planning, businesses can reduce exposure to systemic risks while contributing to the broader transformation toward nature‑positive economic models.
