Scaling Investments in Nature.The Next Critical Frontier for Private Sector Leadership
Publication year
Resource type
UNCCD Library
Material Type
news article
DYK: 52% of agricultural land is already degraded, costing the world $400 billion per year in lost productivity, and it is predicted that land degradation could reduce global food productivity by 12%, increasing food prices by 30% over the next 25 years.
In June 2021, G7 leaders once more acknowledged their duty to safeguard the planet and called for ambitious action to halve collective carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero no later than 2050, mobilize $100 billion per year in climate finance by 2025 and conserve or protect at least 30% of land and oceans by 2030. 23
Such commitments are a promising start, but to meet climate, biodiversity and land degradation targets, a $ 4.1 trillion financing gap in nature needs to be closed by 2050, with bold action starting immediately.24 Closing this gap equates
to quadrupling financing for nature-based solutions from current levels. Similarly, another study estimated that to capture the $10 trillion available in all nature-positive business opportunities by 2030 would require $2.7 trillion per year of redirected funding through to 2030. Public sector funds alonewill not be enough. Private sector financial flows are also needed to create better outcomes for nature
A new World Economic Forum white paper sets out how our economies stand to gain from nature-positive policies.
Implementing nature-positive policies could generate an estimated $10 trillion in new annual business value and create 395 million jobs by 2030.
The regulatory and business environment needs to change to enable nature-positive opportunities to deliver a competitive financial return.
Governments and businesses that embrace nature-positive policies, practices and investments stand to gain, according to a new white paper from a World Economic Forum working group on scaling investments in nature. Put together with input from a cross-section of public and private sector experts who sit on the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Nature-based Solutions, the paper illustrates what is possible in terms of ‘nature-positive investments’. It also sets out what needs to happen to get us there, including real-life examples from many different sectors.
Have you read?
What are nature-based solutions and how can they be harnessed to tackle climate change?
Nature-based Solutions can save the planet, but only if we change our diets too
Why 'Nature-based solutions' are the key tnature based solutionso achieving net-zero
It is estimated that implementing nature-positive policies could generate more than $10 trillion in new annual business value and create 395 million jobs by 2030. So why isn’t it happening at the necessary scale already? Current policy frameworks and economic models have failed to recognize the true value of nature. This is putting the world at high risk of large-scale economic and social breakdown, as detailed in the World Economic Forum's Global Risk Report, published last month.
The aim of the new white paper is to help companies and governments navigate this complex world of risk and reward when it comes to nature. It lays out two complementary pathways for the private sector specifically: one, to mainstream investments in nature that already demonstrate a positive business case, and two, where financial returns are not yet in place, to call on policy makers in governments and international institutions to create an enabling environment for investments in nature to become more financially attractive.
Nature-positive solutions can already be advantageous
We found examples of ‘nature-positive’ action across a surprising range of sectors, including mining, retail, beauty, automotive, banking, hydroelectric, agriculture, forestry and insurance. All these had a business case and could drive nature-positive outcomes, including meeting climate objectives.
The paper describes many different types of action that the private sector can take to avoid and reduce negative impacts on natural ecosystems, to restore ecosystems, and to transform established practices that have been driving nature loss to date. For example, there are companies using nature-based solutions as a way of improving their bottom line and others who are valuing natural assets and ecosystem services to drive their own operational decision making.
There are groups of companies investing in their own operations – for example using regenerative agriculture approaches – to increase the resilience of their supply chains and to help them adapt to climate change. There are also many innovative examples of managing risk, using risk-sharing mechanisms with longer-term horizons and layered income sources, including carbon finance and payments for ecosystem services.
Businesses can lead the charge for policy change...read further from the source above
In June 2021, G7 leaders once more acknowledged their duty to safeguard the planet and called for ambitious action to halve collective carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero no later than 2050, mobilize $100 billion per year in climate finance by 2025 and conserve or protect at least 30% of land and oceans by 2030. 23
Such commitments are a promising start, but to meet climate, biodiversity and land degradation targets, a $ 4.1 trillion financing gap in nature needs to be closed by 2050, with bold action starting immediately.24 Closing this gap equates
to quadrupling financing for nature-based solutions from current levels. Similarly, another study estimated that to capture the $10 trillion available in all nature-positive business opportunities by 2030 would require $2.7 trillion per year of redirected funding through to 2030. Public sector funds alonewill not be enough. Private sector financial flows are also needed to create better outcomes for nature
A new World Economic Forum white paper sets out how our economies stand to gain from nature-positive policies.
Implementing nature-positive policies could generate an estimated $10 trillion in new annual business value and create 395 million jobs by 2030.
The regulatory and business environment needs to change to enable nature-positive opportunities to deliver a competitive financial return.
Governments and businesses that embrace nature-positive policies, practices and investments stand to gain, according to a new white paper from a World Economic Forum working group on scaling investments in nature. Put together with input from a cross-section of public and private sector experts who sit on the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Nature-based Solutions, the paper illustrates what is possible in terms of ‘nature-positive investments’. It also sets out what needs to happen to get us there, including real-life examples from many different sectors.
Have you read?
What are nature-based solutions and how can they be harnessed to tackle climate change?
Nature-based Solutions can save the planet, but only if we change our diets too
Why 'Nature-based solutions' are the key tnature based solutionso achieving net-zero
It is estimated that implementing nature-positive policies could generate more than $10 trillion in new annual business value and create 395 million jobs by 2030. So why isn’t it happening at the necessary scale already? Current policy frameworks and economic models have failed to recognize the true value of nature. This is putting the world at high risk of large-scale economic and social breakdown, as detailed in the World Economic Forum's Global Risk Report, published last month.
The aim of the new white paper is to help companies and governments navigate this complex world of risk and reward when it comes to nature. It lays out two complementary pathways for the private sector specifically: one, to mainstream investments in nature that already demonstrate a positive business case, and two, where financial returns are not yet in place, to call on policy makers in governments and international institutions to create an enabling environment for investments in nature to become more financially attractive.
Nature-positive solutions can already be advantageous
We found examples of ‘nature-positive’ action across a surprising range of sectors, including mining, retail, beauty, automotive, banking, hydroelectric, agriculture, forestry and insurance. All these had a business case and could drive nature-positive outcomes, including meeting climate objectives.
The paper describes many different types of action that the private sector can take to avoid and reduce negative impacts on natural ecosystems, to restore ecosystems, and to transform established practices that have been driving nature loss to date. For example, there are companies using nature-based solutions as a way of improving their bottom line and others who are valuing natural assets and ecosystem services to drive their own operational decision making.
There are groups of companies investing in their own operations – for example using regenerative agriculture approaches – to increase the resilience of their supply chains and to help them adapt to climate change. There are also many innovative examples of managing risk, using risk-sharing mechanisms with longer-term horizons and layered income sources, including carbon finance and payments for ecosystem services.
Businesses can lead the charge for policy change...read further from the source above
Keywords
nature-based solutions
economic aspects
business opportunities
facts and figures
agriculture
subsidies