Acting on nature and climate together accelerates impact.

Climate change and nature loss are tightly interconnected issues. Rising temperatures and changing weather patterns can cause the loss of sensitive species, and in some cases whole ecosystems. Even less drastic climate change impacts can disrupt the relationships among species and critical ecosystem processes, therefore damaging ecosystems and reducing the benefits nature provides to people.  

Such damage has profound implications for society, affecting everything from spiritual well-being through to infrastructure. Among the most critical of these benefits are the roles nature can play in mitigating and adapting to climate change, as well as limiting its adverse impacts on people. On the one hand, healthy ecosystems sequester and store carbon, that could otherwise add to greenhouse gas build-up in the atmosphere. On the other hand, ecosystems can reduce the impacts on people from climate change hazards. For example, coastal wetlands can limit damage from flooding and increase the resilience of communities. 

Some climate solutions, such as engineered infrastructure, can jeopardize biodiversity if nature is not factored in from the outset. However, nature-based, or integrated, solutions can halt and even reverse biodiversity loss, while also strengthening community-level climate resilience. 

Encouragingly, nature is higher than ever on the agenda of this year’s London Climate Action Week (LCAW), happening from 20-28 June. Stakeholders across different sectors of society, from public to private, will come together to learn more about climate issues, and build lasting partnerships. UNEP-WCMC will be at LCAW to help shape global dialogues on how climate action, finance and private sector transitions can be grounded in nature. Through strategic dialogues and partner-led events, we are contributing science, tools and expertise to support nature-inclusive climate action, resilient economies and to scale up solutions across policy, business and finance. 

Business as usual is not sustainable for nature or climate

As highlighted by the IPBES Business and Biodiversity Assessment, business activities have driven, and continue to drive, nature loss. Scientists have been able to measure nature’s contributions to people, ranging from the provision of crops to well-being benefits. Under business-as-usual, 14 out of 18 of these categories have declined. This loss of nature not only harms ecosystems but also poses risks to business operations and value chain resilience. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework sets clear goals for the conservation and restoration of nature, but meeting these relies on whole-of-society and whole-of-government approaches to action. Governments can develop policies and regulations to enable businesses to measure, report and account for impacts on nature. Delivering nature-inclusive climate action requires collaboration across many stakeholders, from governments to businesses and financial institutions. 

We provide measurement tools for better decision making

Measuring climate impacts is now standard practice across much of the private sector. This is also increasingly the case for nature, and many tools already exist for measuring impacts and dependencies on nature. This variety is key, as different measures are needed to inform different business decisions. UNEP-WCMC has played a key role in developing science-based tools that are widely used by businesses and financial institutions, and will further highlight the ways they are already driving private sector understanding and action at LCAW.  

The Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) provides companies with access to the world’s most authoritative biodiversity datasets, including the World Database on Protected and Conserved Areas (WDPCA). This data enables companies to assess and manage risk, disclose with confidence and supports strategy and financing.  Another tool is Exploring Natural Capital Opportunities, Risks and Exposure (ENCORE), which helps companies to both understand how they depend on nature and the ways in which their activities might impact ecosystems. 

We encourage finance to flow towards activities that support nature

There is a major climate finance gap, and the same exists for nature – standing at a staggering shortfall of around $700 billion per year. At present, finance still largely flows towards negative business activities, with $7.3 trillion of finance flowing to activities that degrade nature in 2023 alone. One area in which we work to change this is land-use finance. As land-use is one of the key drivers of biodiversity loss, we support companies to make investments that have positive outcomes for nature. Our Land Use Finance Impact Hub, in collaboration with UNEP Climate Finance Unit, helps investors to develop clear impact frameworks for sustainable investment. We will also be attending LCAW to share insights across events and co-host two sessions on mobilizing more private finance for nature, looking both globally at forests and sustainable land use, as well as at financing NbS in Europe. 

Nature-based solutions are a key investment opportunity

Investment into nature-based solutions (NbS) can help to address both climate and nature issues. NbS work to conserve and restore ecosystems to help solve societal challenges, from climate change to people’s economic well-being. When NbS are designed holistically, addressing both environmental and social problems, they are also cost-effective. UNEP-WCMC will champion the role of NbS at this year’s LCAW, sharing insights from our work across a range of different ecosystem types, from natural landscapes to cities. 

The UNEP-WCMC team will be co-hosting and speaking at a number of events. These include, ‘Changing Mindsets: Mobilizing More Private Investment for Nature in Europe’ with Network Nature EU and Horizon Nua, the ‘Managing Nature Risks and Opportunities: Tools to Guide Business and Finance Action’ workshop with IBAT and WWF, as well as ‘Nature-related Indigenous Peoples Engagement and Financial Materiality' with the Shift Project and Taskforce for Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). Thriving nature and healthy ecosystems are at the heart of effective climate action, and our delegation looks forward to advocating for climate and nature synergies. 

Main image: moofushi / Adobe Stock #458694942