The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) released a report on the ‘state of finance for nature,’ finding an investment gap of USD 165 billion per year from G20 countries for nature-based solutions, in order to meet currently agreed global targets by 2050. The biodiversity and climate finance gaps are emphasized in the draft post-2020 global biodiversity framework and the 2021 Glasgow Climate Pact.
Nature-based solutions (NbS) refers to a range of actions that rely on investing in nature to resolve societal challenges. NbS can include, for example: improving carbon sequestration on agricultural lands and peatlands; restoring mangroves to defend against flooding; and protecting global biodiversity through forest and other land conservation.
Released on 26 January 2022, the report titled ‘The State of Finance for Nature in the G20 Leading by example to close the investment gap’ was led by UNEP, the World Economic Forum, and the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative. The authors write that in the context of the latest findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, the role of investment in NbS “is clear: it tackles these interlinked crises.”
