The analysis shows that finance flows to NbS are currently only USD 154 billion/year, which is less than half of the USD 384 billion/year investment needed by 2025 and only a third of investment needed by 2030 (USD 484 billion/year)
Geneva:
Financing for nature-based solutions (NbS) needs to be doubled by 2025 to deal with multiple global crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation, according to a new United Nations (UN) report.
The analysis shows that finance flows to NbS are currently only USD 154 billion/year, which is less than half of the USD 384 billion/year investment needed by 2025 and only a third of investment needed by 2030 (USD 484 billion/year).
”The science is undeniable. As we transition to net-zero emissions by 2050, we must also reorient all human activity to ease the pressure on the natural world on which we all depend,” said Inger Anderson, Executive Director of UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
”This requires governments, business and finance to massively step up investments in nature-based solutions because investments in nature are investments in securing the future for generations to follow,” Anderson said in a statement.
The report come a week before governments from across the world are set to gather for the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) in Montreal, Canada, where they will adopt a landmark agreement to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030.
Among the key issues under discussion is the mobilisation of resources for the implementation of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and investments in NbS.
Tackling climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation with immediate action requires that current global investments need to increase by USD 230 billion each year to 2025, the report said.
Governments currently provide 83 per cent of NbS finance flows, yet will be unlikely to dramatically increase these flows due to fiscal challenges linked to conflict, debt and poverty, it said.
Therefore, the private sector must significantly increase investment from current levels of USD 26 billion per year (17 per cent), according to the report.
To do so, the report said, it must increase investments in sustainable supply chains, reduce activities with negative impact on climate and biodiversity and offset unavoidable impacts through high integrity nature markets, pay for the ecosystem services it uses and invest in nature positive activities.
The analysis by UNEP and collaborators finds that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, rather than 2 degrees, is achievable only if action is immediate and with additional cumulative investments of USD 1.5 trillion to a total of USD 11 trillion between 2022-2050.
This additional investment will focus on sustainable agriculture and peatland restoration, the report said.
Phasing out coal and decarbonising the energy systems will not be enough without adjacent massive investments into nature-based solutions. This is congruent with the findings of the 2022 Emissions Gap Report, the analysis found.