(Sunday 20th October) Commenting on COP16 kicking off in Colombia, Catherine Howarth OBE, Chief Executive of ShareAction, said: "COP16 comes at a critical juncture for the future of our natural world. We are losing biodiversity at a rate that poses a dire threat to the health of the natural world, the global economy and the wellbeing of people everywhere.

"Alongside governments who set the rules, the financial sector has an important role to play in protecting people and planet through its ownership and financing of companies. Despite overwhelming evidence of the need for urgent action to protect biodiversity and economic resilience, the investment community is not doing enough to live up to this responsibility.

"This COP offers the chance for financial sector leaders to raise their ambition and use their influence to improve companies’ impacts on the natural world we all rely on. We want to see the sector step up."

Notes to editors

ShareAction and UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre's briefing sets out how investors should strengthen their approach to protect some of the world's most important biodiversity-rich areas: Risk Management in Protected Areas