State of Finance for Nature 2026

"Nature in the red - Powering the trillion dollar nature transition economy" 

The State of Finance for Nature 2026 shows that the private sector is still overwhelmingly financing nature destruction instead of working with nature, whilst governments are facing fiscal constraints to finance the protection of nature. It offers a data-driven roadmap for policymakers, business leaders, financiers and civil society on how to invest in Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and begin the ‘Big Nature Turnaround’ to increase private capital flows towards a future nature-positive economy.

Key results

Despite growing recognition of nature’s economic value, global finance continues to favour ecosystem destruction over protection by a ratio of 30:1, fuelling the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation. While the world spends around US$220 billion annually to protect nature, an estimated US$7.4 trillion is directed towards activities that are actively degrading it. Most of this nature-negative finance originates from the private sector. Yet nearly 90% of investments aimed at protecting and restoring nature currently come from public sources, with only 10% mobilised from private capital. Although international public finance for nature has increased by 22% since 2022 and by 55% since 2015, these gains remain vastly insufficient compared to the scale of harmful investments. 

The report concludes that redirecting financial flows — by eliminating nature-negative investments and rapidly scaling up nature-positive ones — is critical to enabling a nature transition economy and achieving a future that is truly nature-positive.

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STATE OF FINANCE FOR NATURE IN ASEAN

The State of Finance for Nature report in ASEAN tracks public and private finance to Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and compares these flows with investment needed to achieve global goals  under the Rio Conventions. The report aims to provide policy makers, businesses and financial institutions with an evidence-based snapshot of the significant gap between current finance flows to restoration and investment needed to tackle ecosystem degradation in the ASEAN region.

Key results

Key findings show that investments in nature-based solutions in ASEAN reached US$8 billion in 2023, but finance flows to activities harming nature outweigh positive flows by 40 times (US$ 320 billion annually). Thus, there is a significant financing gap for nature in ASEAN: to meet the Rio Convention targets, finance flows to nature-based solutions in ASEAN need to increase 7-fold from current levels (US$ 8 billion) to reach US$ 54 billion per year by 2030. The recommendations in the report offer practical ways for ASEAN Member States to unlock new sources of finance, align incentives, and scale up NbS implementation across the region.

Read the policy brief here. 

SFN RESTORATION FINANCE REPORT 2024

"Growing the Green - How and why restoration finance needs to quadruple by 2030" 

The State of Finance for Nature Restoration Finance Report tracks public and private finance to restoration Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and compares these flows with investment needed to achieve global restoration goals (1 billion hectares to be restored by 2030) under the Rio Conventions. The report aims to provide policy makers, businesses and financial institutions with an evidence-based snapshot of the significant gap between current finance flows to restoration and investment needed to tackle ecosystem degradation.

Key results

Key findings include that restoration finance needs to quadruple from 2022 levels of US$64 billion to US$296 billion by 2030 to reach global restoration targets while contributing to climate and biodiversity goals. Governments provide almost three-quarters of finance for restoration, but there are opportunities for private finance to invest in NbS through biodiversity and carbon credits, regenerative agriculture and impact investing. NbS are cost-effective solution to tackle ecosystem degradation, providing biodiversity, climate and livelihood benefits in an integrated manner.

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State of Finance for Nature 2023 Report

"State of Finance for Nature 2023: The big nature turnaround. Repurposing $7 trillion to combat nature loss." 

For the first time, this edition estimates the scale of nature-negative finance flows from both public and private sector sources globally. NbS provide critical investment opportunities as they are cost-effective and provide multiple benefits. The report focuses on current levels of NbS implementation and finance and how much finance for NbS is needed to reach specific Rio targets – limit climate change to 1.5°C, protect 30 per cent of land and sea by 2030 (30x30 target) and reach land degradation neutrality (LDN) by 2030. The NbS finance gap is the difference between current finance flows and the Rio-aligned scenario NbS finance needs.

Key results

Despite government commitments, environmentally harmful subsidies have surged by 55% to reach US$1.7 trillion. The combined impact of public and private nature negative finance flows is enormously destructive and undermines potential increases in finance for NbS. Concurrently, NbS remain severly underfunded, with current flows at US$200 billion—merely a third of the necessary levels to achieve climate, biodiversity, and land degradation targets by 2030. 

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State of Finance for Nature 2022 Report

“State of Finance for Nature: Time to act: Doubling investment by 2025 and eliminating nature-negative finance flow"

The State of Finance for Nature 2022 report quantifies public and private finance flows to nature-based solutions (NbS) to tackle global challenges related to biodiversity loss, land degradation and climate change. Current investments are compared to investment needed to meet targets of the Rio Conventions under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

Key results

Climate, biodiversity, and land degradation goals can only be reached if investments into nature-based solutions quickly ramp up to USD 384 billion/year by 2025, more than double of the current USD 154 billion/year. Nature-negative flows from public sources need to be phased out, repurposed or reformed. Private capital only represents 17% of total investments into nature-based solutions. This will have to rise by several orders of magnitude in the coming years.

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State of Finance for Nature in the G20 report

"State of Finance for Nature in the G20: Leading by example to close the investment gap"

The State of Finance for Nature in the G20 report from 2022 attempts to capture the complete amount and future need for G20 country spending on nature-based solutions assets and activities.

Key results

The report reveals that current G20 investments in nature-based solutions are insufficient, at USD 120 billion/year, and G20 Official Development Assistance and private sector investments are small when compared with domestic government spending. The report calls for G20 countries to scale-up annual nature-based solutions spending to USD 285 billion by 2050 to tackle the inter-related nature, climate, and land degradation crises on which much of our economies are dependent, and provides recommendations to align development and economic recovery with nature goals through setting quantifiable monetary objectives, governance and policy options, and devices to facilitate systemic changes to meet this investment gap.

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State of Finance for Nature 2021

“State of Finance For Nature: Tripling investments in nature-based solutions by 2030”

The State of Finance for Nature 2021 report presents the results of a global analysis which tracks investment flows into nature-based solutions and identifies future investments needed to meet the biodiversity, climate and land restoration targets. As countries and companies step up their commitments to fight the climate and nature crises, it is of paramount importance to use the post-COVID-19 recovery to scale-up finance and investment in nature-based solutions to restore degraded land and tackle the climate and biodiversity crises while creating jobs.

Key results

If the world is to meet the climate change, biodiversity, and land degradation targets, it needs to close a USD 4.1 trillion financing gap in nature by 2050. The current investments in Nature-based solutions amount to USD 133 billion – about 0.10 per cent of global GDP, most of which comes from public sources.

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