Mar 11, 2022

FC4S Biodiversity Finance Paper

FC4S Biodiversity Finance Paper

All stakeholders in financial and capital markets are reckoning with the challenge of Biodiversity Finance – from central banks and supervisors, institutional investors, stock exchanges and bond markets, to standard setters, rating agencies, and data providers.

The link between climate and biodiversity action is becoming clearer. Climate change is one of the primary drivers of the natural world’s decline 3 but mitigation and adaptation efforts are made considerably more challenging by the continued plundering of natural resources, which in turn causes further destruction of the natural world and exacerbates the climate emergency.

Increasingly, governments and communities are seeking actions that address both challenges together. Among these includes increased attention and recourse to Nature-based Solutions 4. At the FC4S 2020 Annual General Meeting, the secretariat proposed exploring the emerging topic of Biodiversity Finance to add it to the FC4S work programme.

A Working Group was established and, in collaboration with technical experts, identified key facets of the issue through a mapping exercise. The group then helped to draw up a Biodiversity Finance Action Plan that addresses the needs of financial centres. The Working Group addressed five facets of Biodiversity Finance:

-Transparency and disclosure

-Data

-Fintech

-Promoting a “Nature Positive” norm

-New financial instruments

The FC4S Secretariat proposes to produce a simple guide for financial centres – and particularly those in the emerging markets – on new and innovative financial vehicles for nature finance and, if the level of interest is genuinely high enough, to organize capacity building events to promote and apply these.

 

Download the report to learn more.