The CDP‘s latest report, Nurturing Nature: De-risking Nature-based Finance in Asia, explores the pressing need for increased private-sector participation in nature-based financing. As biodiversity loss and climate challenges threaten up to two-thirds of Asia’s GDP, the report emphasizes that urgent financial interventions are critical to protect and restore the region’s ecosystems.

Key Findings:

• Biodiversity at Risk: Asia, home to 18% of the world’s forests and numerous ecosystems, is facing the threat of biodiversity loss. This not only endangers nature-reliant economies but could disrupt pollination, crop production, and value chains tied to natural resources.
• Funding Gap: The public sector dominates nature-based solutions (NbS) financing, contributing 82% of the $165 billion allocated in 2022. However, this falls short of the $737 billion per year needed to meet climate and biodiversity targets by 2050.
• Private Capital Needed: Private-sector financing is crucial to bridging the current funding gap. Despite the significant investment needed, a staggering $5 trillion in private capital continues to flow into environmentally harmful sectors, representing a 140-fold disparity compared to investments in nature-positive projects.

Challenges in Nature-based Financing:

The report outlines multiple challenges hindering the widespread adoption of NbS, including:

1. Impact Measurement: Quantifying the environmental and financial returns of NbS remains a barrier to scaling investments.
2. High Risk Perception: NbS projects often have long payback periods and are perceived as high risk by institutional investors.
3. Legal and Regulatory Barriers: Unclear land ownership, regulatory constraints, and the absence of binding regional policies further complicate investments in NbS.

Opportunities and Recommendations:

To overcome these challenges, the report calls for several actions:

• Risk Assessment: Financial institutions should assess their portfolios for exposure to nature-related risks and set time-bound financing goals that support nature conservation.
• Blended Finance: Public funding and concessional capital can help de-risk NbS projects, allowing financial institutions to access more affordable commercial financing.
• Innovative Financing Models: Instruments like sustainability-linked loans, green bonds, and parametric insurance can help scale NbS adoption.

Parametric Insurance and Venture Capital as Solutions:

Parametric insurance, which triggers payouts based on predefined climate events, offers a faster, more reliable way to insure ecosystems and attract private investment. Similarly, venture capital (VC) investments in nature-related technology, though currently undercapitalized, represent a high-growth opportunity for the region.

Conclusion:

The CDP report concludes that while significant barriers remain in scaling nature-based solutions, the financial sector can play a pivotal role in unlocking new opportunities by realigning capital flows, fostering public-private partnerships, and supporting high-quality NbS projects. To protect Asia’s biodiversity and contribute to a nature-positive future, there must be a concerted effort to finance nature-based solutions and de-risk investments.

Background:
The report aligns with global efforts such as the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use, and the Global Biodiversity Framework, which underscore the critical need to halt deforestation and nature loss to build a sustainable future.

For further details, you can access the full report here.