Biodiversity and natural resource finance

Nature risk has become recognized as a major issue for worldwide economies. Between 2020 and 2024, private finance for nature surged elevenfold to over 100 billion, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimated that there could be a further increase by 2030 to 1. 45 trillion. 1 Regrettably, the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, did not reach a conclusion on funding. Discussions were deferred to 2025 in Rome, Italy, when participating nations eventually agreed to provide developing countries with 200 billion a year to finance conservation efforts until 2030. However, there is a growing awareness of the importance of the need for the private sector to step forward, and private finance will be needed to close the financing gap.