Nature and biodiversity: time to step up preservation efforts as global businesses face US$44 trillion value at risk
- The construction sector is most vulnerable with US$4 trillion of value at risk, followed by US$2.5 trillion in the agriculture sector
- Only US$1.7 trillion is invested annually, versus US$4.2 trillion needed to meet the UN’s sustainable development goals by 2030
State and philanthropic financing has helped plug some of the funding deficit for climate and biodiversity projects, giving private-sector capital and public markets a role to play in stopping the degradation of nature, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Some US$4.2 trillion of investment is needed annually for projects to meet the United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals by 2030. Only US$1.7 trillion is invested annually, mainly from philanthropic and governmental sources.
“This [approach] takes away the risk, so that it can be scaled with debt and equity raised from the private sector,” Stuart Beavis, the regional lead for Dutch Fund for Climate and Development at WWF Hong Kong, said at the ReThink conference in the city on Thursday. Private sector participation is key as banks tend to shun risks in early-stage projects, he added.
WWF creates blended finance structures, where public and charity funds are offered to developers to jump-start climate and biodiversity projects. Beavis, a former banker of 25 years, leads the Asian operations of the Dutch government’s fund that aims to enhance the resilience of communities vulnerable to climate change.