Biodiversity is in a crisis of decline and extinction at all geographic scales of consideration and efforts to tackle this have had demonstrably poor success, with successive national and global targets being missed. Despite this poor track record, international biodiversity agreements have responded with elevated levels of ambition. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) ‘new deal for nature’ claims to be based on ‘ambitious but plausible’ global goals of no net loss by 2030, and 10–15% biodiversity net gain (BNG) by 2050 (CBD, 2020). Global calls for action are reflected in new national policies and non-market mechanisms for safeguarding and enhancing biodiversity. In 2022, the UK was one of many other countries that committed to bring 30% of their territories (land and sea) under management for nature by 2030. The European Union (EU) Biodiversity Strategy for 20301 and its associated Action Plan include a new Nature Restoration law and ambitious targets to reverse the degradation of ecosystems. The Strategy is seen as a core part of the European Green Deal and ‘green recovery’ following the COVID-19 pandemic and emphasises the need for better recognition of the values of biodiversity and natural capital both to society and to business, arguing that it constitutes enlightened self-interest to operate in a biodiversity-compatible manner.