Session 1: How can we get nature on the finance agenda and position nature in a green recovery?
Monday, 20 July 2020 | 9:00am - 11:00am EST
Nature loss continues to represent a hidden risk for most businesses, as it drives major impacts on operations, supply chains, and markets. With $44 trillion of economic value generation – over half the world’s total GDP – depending on nature and its services, biodiversity loss was highlighted in World Economic Forum’s last Global Risks Report as one of the top-five global risks in terms of likelihood and impact in the next 10 years. As a result of Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and other ESG drivers, financial institutions are now reviewing the environmental impact of companies operating in key GHG emitting sectors that have been damaging natural systems.
Although nature plays a key role in achieving global climate commitments, the story of nature does not end with GHG mitigation strategies from a financial risk perspective. Some pioneering financial institutions have recognized that investing in nature can offer returns while tackling wider socio-environmental challenges such as water security, water pollution, food security, human health and disaster risk management. Without rapid and systemic change, biodiversity loss and landscape degradation will severely disrupt the world economy. A “TCFD for nature” could accelerate understanding dramatically, thereby strengthening the resilience of the global financial ecosystem to future threats. Thinking beyond climate, those nature-based investments contribute to building back better following the COVID crisis, creating green jobs and fostering community resilience to ensure a green and sustainable recovery.
By making the distinction between climate change and nature, this session will provide an outline of the critical environmental and economic roles fulfilled by nature, highlighting nature’s stranded assets, and offering a stark warning as to the impact of inaction. The session will include practical best practice examples on how finance can be deployed at scale and with attractive returns to allow our natural environment to flourish.
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