Message from the taskforce on nature-related financial disclosures (TNFD)

Mr Tony Goldner, Chief Executive Officer of the TNFD, states that resilient economies and financial systems are anchored in nature. The TNFD framework allows businesses to identify, assess, manage, and disclose nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities. Stock exchanges are uniquely positioned to connect international frameworks with local market participants through issuer guidance, listing mechanisms, and data services. This action plan equips exchanges to turn shared frameworks into market practice, strengthening the institutional capacity needed to direct financial flows towards a nature-positive future.

Message from the Botswana Stock Exchange

Mr Aupa Monyatsi, CEO of the Botswana Stock Exchange, emphasises that nature underpins emerging markets, where ecosystems like the Okavango Delta support tourism and local livelihoods. Nature is not an abstract consideration but a foundation for social and economic wellbeing. The Botswana Stock Exchange has integrated TNFD recommendations into its Sustainability Disclosure Guidance to help issuers understand how they depend on and affect nature. This action plan serves as an accessible starting point for exchanges to build resilient markets while safeguarding natural systems.

Message from Euronext brussels

Mr Benoît van den Hove notes that understanding how corporate activity contributes to the degradation or restoration of natural systems is vital for effective governance and capital allocation. Euronext has integrated nature into sustainable finance activities via guidance on biodiversity and natural capital disclosures. Nature must be considered across governance, strategy, and risk assessment rather than treated solely as a reporting exercise. Collaboration across the market ecosystem is essential for directing finance towards nature protection.

Executive summary

Nature underpins economies through ecosystem services. Businesses depend on nature and affect it through operations and value chains, creating physical, transition, and systemic risks. Conversely, protecting and restoring nature can create new business opportunities. Policy and regulatory responses are developing, with sustainability reporting and investment analysis increasingly incorporating nature-related information. Exchanges can help translate emerging expectations into market practice by improving transparency and facilitating credible innovation appropriate to their local context.

Part 1: introduction

The UN SSE issues publications to support capital market participants, including securities regulators and listed companies. This action plan assists exchanges in positioning themselves as trusted market architects that lead by example and build capacity. It is designed to be flexible and scalable, allowing exchanges to prioritise and sequence actions according to their specific mandate and resources. The plan covers four interconnected areas: establish, activate, enable, and educate.

Part 2: the business case for action on nature

Scientific perspectives on nature have evolved from resource-based management to a systemic understanding of planetary resilience. Seven of the nine planetary boundaries that regulate Earth’s stability have been breached. Human activity uses resources at a rate equivalent to 1.8 Earths, and monitored wildlife populations have declined by almost 70% over the past 50 years. Nature loss is now recognised as an issue with significant consequences for financial markets.

Over half of global GDP is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its ecosystem services. Nature-dependent activities may represent between one-third and one-half of global market capitalisation. Modelling suggests that unchecked nature loss could reduce stock market values by 12–18% in some economies over the next 15 years. Approximately USD 7.3 trillion in annual financial flows is associated with activities that directly harm biodiversity, with USD 4.9 trillion originating in the private sector. Transitioning to a nature-positive economy could unlock approximately USD 10 trillion in annual business opportunities by 2030.

Part 3: action plan for exchanges

The action plan is organised around four themes. To ‘Establish’ strong foundations, exchanges should lead by their own practices, including undertaking a high-level assessment using the LEAP approach. To ‘Activate’, they should promote high-quality disclosure and convene multi-stakeholder dialogue. ‘Enable’ refers to supporting market development through products like blue bonds, biodiversity credits, and nature-focused indices. ‘Educate’ involves building the knowledge needed by market participants to assess and respond to nature-related issues.

Illustrative examples show global progress. LSEG and Nasdaq have conducted initial LEAP assessments to explore nature-related risks. The Australian Securities Exchange requires listed entities to report against environmental risks. The Cabo Verde Stock Exchange facilitated the issuance of the country’s first blue bond, while Euronext offers a range of biodiversity indices. More than 200 financial institutions representing approximately US$27 trillion in assets have signed the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge, reflecting growing investor attention. Furthermore, more than 1,000 organisations across 56 jurisdictions are already reporting against TNFD-aligned disclosures.

Conclusion: a call to action

Healthy natural systems underpin the resilience of economies and businesses. As science, policy, and data continue to develop, exchanges must periodically revisit their priorities and refine their approaches. By establishing internal capability and promoting market-facing initiatives, exchanges ensure that nature is increasingly reflected in the information and decisions that shape capital allocation. This supports the transition toward more sustainable and resilient capital markets over the long term.