An Analysis of the Coordinated Legal Path between Marine Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Financial Regulation from the Perspective of International Environmental Law

Abstract

International environmental legislation has never been adequate to conserve biodiversity in the high seas and areas beyond national jurisdiction. The BBNJ Agreement, which was adopted in 2023 and which will enter into force in 2026, has given a definitive institutional structure on this subject. Financial regulation is starting to focus on natural hazards, thanks to the "Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework" and TNFD's disclosure recommendations. However, the organic relationship between the conservation commitments at the level of international law and the specific laws of financial regulation is still lacking. The article begins with the legal obligations under the BBNJ Agreement, then surveys the latest developments in the sustainable finance for biodiversity protection, and highlights the institutional gaps in information disclosure, risk assessment and liability attribution between the two, before offering a collaborative solution. The article believes that the institutional gap should be closed from four levels: establishing special disclosure indicators for marine biodiversity, building financial risk assessment standards, promoting the alignment of international regulatory rules, and improving the legal basis for blue financial tools. These approaches may serve to translate the demands of international environmental law into operational principles of financial regulation and to mutually reinforce the promotion of ecological conservation and financial governance.