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The 12th IPBES plenary in Manchester, UK focuses on the intersection of business and biodiversity.
It aims to guide global efforts in sustainable resource use and nature conservation.
Delegates will review a new report on business impacts on ecosystems, with the potential to influence policy and corporate decisions towards achieving the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity.
The 12th plenary of Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) began in Manchester, United Kingdom to discuss the science and evidence for addressing the global biodiversity crisis.
This is the first time the United Kingdom is hosting an IPBES Plenary, and Manchester, a city known for its role in the industrial revolution has been chosen as the venue. The meeting will take place from February 3-8, 2026.
IPBES is a global body established in 2012 to connect science and policy on biodiversity. It brings together scientists, governments, and Indigenous and local knowledge holders to assess the state of nature and provide trusted information to decision-makers.
Often called the ‘IPCC for biodiversity’, its goal is to help countries protect nature, use natural resources sustainably and improve human well-being.
The IPBES Plenary, which meets once a year, is the platform’s main decision-making body. It includes representatives from nearly 150 member-countries, along with observer states and other stakeholders.
The main focus of this year’s meeting is ‘business and biodiversity’.
Over the last three years, scientists and experts have studied how businesses affect nature and how businesses depend on ecosystems. This work has resulted in a new IPBES methodological assessment.
During the meeting, governments will review this new report, which explains the following: How business activities impact biodiversity, how businesses depend on nature for resources and services, how these impacts and dependencies can be measured and how businesses can help achieve the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity under the Global Biodiversity Framework.
The Plenary will be invited to accept the report and approve its summary for policymakers. If approved, the summary will be published on February 9, 2026 and will guide governments, companies and investors on how to make more nature-positive decisions.
IPBES Chair David Obura said in a press release that Manchester is the perfect place to discuss how businesses relate to nature, calling it “a new chapter in transformative change in how businesses relate to biodiversity”.
UK Nature Minister Mary Creagh noted that the meeting is a vital opportunity to turn global promises into real action to stop nature loss.
At IPBES-12, delegates will also review progress on future assessments, including a planned report on biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning and ecological connectivity, which will be completed in 2027, as well as the second global assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services, which will be considered by Plenary in 2028.
They will also consider proposals for new assessments up to 2030, which could focus on important issues such as pollution, poverty, cities and climate change.
Other key topics include the results of an external review of IPBES and ways to improve its work, the election of 25 members to the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel that guides scientific assessments, and the draft rules for admitting observers to IPBES meetings.
During the week-long meeting, delegates will also discuss financial and organisational matters to ensure IPBES can continue its work effectively.
At the last meeting of IPBES in December 2024, governments approved two major reports. The first was the Nexus Assessment, which showed how biodiversity loss is linked with water, food, health and climate, and that these issues must be addressed together.
The second was the Transformation Change Assessment, which explained the root cause of biodiversity loss and outlined deep changes across society and economies to protect nature.