Adaptation and biodiversity finance
The Sustainable Finance Observatory provides analysis and expertise on innovative ways to bridge the finance gap for nature and adaptation. This works consists in aligning financial markets with the objectives of the Global Biodiversity Framework. We also work on designing innovative bankability models for the deployment of nature-based solutions in rural and urban areas, building on the quantification and monetisation of avoided costs and co-benefits.
The Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) set objectives to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and ensure that by 2050 we live in harmony with nature. This ambition requires a transition towards a nature-positive economy and calls for reorientation of financial flows towards activities that are less harmful to biodiversity and contribute to biodiversity conservation and protection. To meet these objectives and bridge the $932 billion annual finance gap for nature, a radical shift in private finance is urgently needed.
There are numerous barriers to mobilizing private finance for nature. On one hand, although growing recognition of nature’s value is emerging among financial institutions, most private investors still lack the nature literacy and expertise to fully grasp the issues and opportunities and need guidance to incorporate these considerations into investment and lending strategies. On the other hand, while investor interest in nature is growing, the investment landscape for nature-positive projects remains underdeveloped. The lack of a mature pipeline of bankable and scalable projects with clear economic returns for investors remains a significant barrier to capital mobilization.
Our work aims at addressing the barriers to mobilizing finance for nature and adaptation while avoiding silos with social issues. We explore funding pathways for nature-based solutions, and design methodologies to improve their access to finance by fostering the monetization of their environmental and socio-economic benefits and leveraging innovative finance mechanisms. We work to improve the regulatory framework to incentive's financial institutions to further integrate biodiversity into their investment decisions and we provide training and capacity building to financial supervisors in Europe.
On the same subject:
Publications • December 4, 2024
How to reveal nature-negative investments and support their reduction?
The Global Biodiversity Framework (adopted during COP15) set the ambition to halt biodiversity loss by 2050. This ambition calls for a reduction of nature-negative investments and requires efficient mechanisms and tools to identify and monitor them.
Meet our adaptation and finance team
Guillaume Lorentz
Head of bankable sustainable solutions
Guillaume Lorentz has over 20 years of experience in the financial sector, including senior roles at major investment banks such as HSBC. After five years working in market and model risk management, he spent 15 years in trading as a director in Paris and London, focusing primarily on structured products for global portfolios. His financial expertise has since expanded into sustainable finance, with a strong emphasis on the bankability of sustainable solutions through financial engineering. He has extensive implementation experience across fifteen countries in Africa, particularly in energy efficiency, sustainable cities, and carbon markets. At the Sustainable Finance Observatory (SFO), he leads the Bankability and Modelling Division, covering adaptation, biodiversity, energy, and climate-related topics.
Lisa Bacon
Nature-finance analyst
Lisa is a Nature and Climate Finance Analyst. Her work focuses on exploring solutions in the realm of finance and policy to reallocate financial flows towards nature restoration and climate adaptation projects. She joined the Observatory in 2024 after having worked in sustainable finance within the banking sector, following her studies in management and finance at HEC Paris, and Public Policy at the University of Tokyo
Mirindra Rabemanantsoa
Project Manager
Mirindra specializes in sustainable finance and just transition, focusing on integrating social and environmental considerations into public policies and financial decision-making. She co-leads energy efficiency initiatives, developing financing schemes to scale up renovations. She sees energy efficiency as a cornerstone of a just transition, reducing emissions while addressing energy poverty and improving living conditions. Her work emphasizes inclusive financing tools that ensure the benefits of the energy transition reach those most affected by climate and social inequalities.
David Cooke
Law and policy Lead
David is a lawyer by training and specialises in sustainable finance and the intersection of research, policy and regulation. He has worked across international trade, emerging market finance and climate change consulting and holds a Master’s in Sustainable Development. He previously worked at ClientEarth, the UK-based public interest law firm, where he focused on regulatory and legal strategies to improve corporate and investor transparency on climate-related financial risk, and engaged with financial regulators and government departments to strengthen oversight and accountability. He joined the Sustainable Finance Observatory in 2019 and provides cross-cutting support to research programmes on legal and policy implications.