Taking Bold Action Toward a Sustainable Future: Newmont’s Participation at the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15)

At Newmont, our dedication to sustainable and responsible mining is at the heart of our operations. We recognize that mining, by its very nature, impacts the environment and alters ecosystems in a significant way. This is why we are committed to protecting the earth, addressing potential threats with solutions and identifying opportunities to move the industry toward a more sustainable future.

Last month, Newmont participated in the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15, or just COP15) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The objective was to develop the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) - designed to help protect and enhance biodiversity - and have it legally ratified by member nations. After much debate over several days, the GBF was adopted on the final day of the conference.

The conference was attended by over 10,000 delegates, including representatives from all 196 member nations. Newmont's Global Environmental Director, Ross Polis, represented our company as part of the International Council on Mining and Metals delegation. He shares here his experience and perspective on the GBF's implications for mining.

Q: Why is the GBF important to the mining industry and Newmont?

Ross Polis: Since 1970, there has been a 70% drop in populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians - and 75% of the earth's land has been significantly disturbed or altered. Forecasts indicate that without intervention, this decline will accelerate and threaten more than half of the world's GDP. There is scientific consensus that this decade is a tipping point requiring collective global action to "bend the curve" and move toward a Nature Positive future.

The ambition is that the GBF will be the biodiversity and nature equivalent of the Paris Agreement for climate that was adopted at another COP in 2015 - that agreement has charted the course for a decarbonized world. The GBF includes four long-term goals for 2050 and 23 targets for action by 2030. It has many components that will directly affect the mining industry and Newmont.

Importantly, the GBF provides the global clarity and direction related to biodiversity and nature that companies like ours can align our existing programs with to achieve outcomes that go beyond our site-specific objectives and contribute to national and global action plans that halt nature loss and restore it. The role of business in achieving the GBF targets was a strong theme throughout COP15, and it included a higher attendance from business than any previous biodiversity COPs.

Jurisdictions where we operate will start introducing regulation and legislation to enforce GBF elements. Some countries, such as Canada, have already set country-specific targets and legislative requirements. It will be critical that Newmont engage in these processes and develop strategies on how we will contribute.

Key Relevant Targets Introduced by the GBF

• 30% of degraded ecosystems globally are under effective restoration by 2030 (target 2)
• 30% of terrestrial, inland water as well as coastal and marine areas are effectively conserved and managed by 2030 (target 3)
• Ensure the full integration of biodiversity into policies, regulation, planning & development processes and impact assessments across all levels of government (target 14)
• Take action for large and transnational companies as well as financial institutions to disclose their risks, impacts and dependencies along their operations, supply/value chains and portfolios (target 15)
• Eliminate, phase out or reform incentives, including subsidies, that are harmful for biodiversity (target 18)

Q: How do the goals of COP15 and COP26 converge and work separately?

RP: Similar to outcomes from COP26 on climate, COP15 identified capacity building and resource mobilization as key to achieving the targets. With the alignment of the 2030 and 2050 target years, and the finalization of the GBF wording, both conventions can work together as they are implemented.

There is anticipation for a stronger link between biodiversity and climate change. Nature-based climate solutions are already being implemented globally and expected to grow in scale with wider funding opportunities available. Newmont's Carbon Offsets Strategic Approach prioritizes the use of nature-based solutions when carbon offsets are necessary to neutralize hard-to-abate residual greenhouse gas emissions. In this instance, there is significant opportunity for these to enhance all aspects of nature, including social benefits, and contribute to GBF targets while also reducing carbon emissions.

Q: What discussions/meetings did you participate in at COP15? How do you believe they will influence Newmont's strategy moving forward?

RP: I participated in an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Anglo American session where several mining and energy companies came together to present case studies and share lessons learned on biodiversity actions in non-operational lands. At a separate session, I presented with IUCN on the benefits of our collaboration partnership, with the recent Akyem Biodiversity Technical Review as a particular focus. I also attended more than 30 panel presentations and seminars related to mainstreaming biodiversity into existing business practices, inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in decision making, aligning with the energy transition, target setting, biodiversity credit systems, disclosure reporting and the role of global trade. There was also the enlightening opportunity to witness negotiations among the parties.

During one session, the topic touched on the complexity of nature and how there could be no business without biodiversity. A response to this was to be comfortable with that complexity and shift thought to a situation where we can have better businesses with biodiversity. I thought this was particularly compelling.

A clear indication from all of this is the trend toward Nature Positive and how companies can contribute to a state where the nature decline stops and curves toward a future where there is more biodiversity than today. Currently, Newmont's Biodiversity Management Standard and commitment focus on no net loss of key biodiversity values. With the momentum toward Nature Positive and the adoption of the GBF, our strategy will evolve to include broader concepts and frameworks. Setting plans and targets that encompass all realms of nature (water, biodiversity, land, climate) will be necessary and Newmont is already working in that direction with a development process that began in 2022. Being transparent about the progress and outcomes of this work will be important and disclosing our nature-related risks and opportunities will become a key part of our ESG reporting.

Learn more about Newmont's no net loss approach to biodiversity here.