By Dieter Holger

French investors AXA Investment Management, BNP Paribas Asset Management and Natixis's (KN.FR) Mirova said Tuesday that they are working on measuring how investments impact biodiversity, following widespread bush fires in Australia that have killed wildlife.

The French companies said environmental, social and governance data providers are welcome to submit applications to work on the project by March 31.

"We believe it is crucial that the financial community addresses this issue in the same way that it has addressed climate change," the companies said in a joint statement. "We hope that the tool we develop will be used by all market players, and that it will become a benchmark tool."

Last year, a United Nations report said the Earth faces an "unprecedented" threat to biodiversity with roughly 1 million plant and animal species on the verge of extinction due to human activity, marking what could be the first mass extinction since humans started walking the planet.

Write to Dieter Holger at dieter.holger@wsj.com; @dieterholger

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 28, 2020 13:03 ET (18:03 GMT)