Masterclass in Nature Finance

Our economy is highly dependent upon nature and the ecosystem services it provides. As nature continues to deteriorate, society suffers, and businesses run more risk. Scientists predict that if the current rate at which nature is being destroyed or degraded continues unabated, irreversible tipping points may be crossed, with far-reaching economic and societal impacts. Corporates and financial institutions that fail to respond are contributing to the problem and are exposed to nature-related financial risks. 

Nature finance holds the key to halting biodiversity loss by steering capital towards nature-positive purposes and re-directing capital away from nature-negative outcomes. However, scaling nature finance faces a multitude of challenges. The lack of clear policy frameworks with enforceable regulation hinders commitment to halting biodiversity loss by financial institutions. The complex character of ‘biodiversity’ poses challenges in designing and implementing appropriate targets and standards, and corresponding metrics. The thin level of awareness and technical capacity across the financial sector further hinders the aggressive level of action that is needed to meet nature recovery goals. 

This Masterclass is for public sector professionals across governments, central banks and regulators, as well as philanthropic organisations and civil society to understand nature finance and have an improved grasp of the current landscape and developments, to accelerate the policy dialogue and create innovative, scalable and effective solutions.