City of London: New roadmap unveiled to position the UK as a global centre for nature finance and unlock sustainable growth opportunities
15 September 2023
The City of London Corporation in collaboration with PwC unveils a new report outlining a vision for an innovative and world leading global centre for nature finance that supports the ambition of the Global Biodiversity Framework.
The report highlights the opportunity for the UK’s financial and professional services sector to scale up and facilitate investments in nature, showcasing its transformative potential for long-term economic impact. Mobilising financial resources for nature is integral to tackling climate change, preserving biodiversity and also creating green jobs.
A Global Centre for Nature Finance outlines a roadmap for the UK to become a global nature finance centre, including developing innovative tools and products for measuring and investing in nature, and calling for the UK to support the development of high-integrity nature credit markets.
Key recommendations from the report for UK Government and financial institutions to consider focus on financing nature and integrating nature into the financial system:
1. Signalling & policy certainty: Develop sector-specific targets and roadmaps for nature restoration and protection and provide clarity on how the UK will operationalise its key commitments under the Global Biodiversity Framework
2. Project pipeline creation: Support the development of a pipeline of sufficiently large investible opportunities, including by accelerating the supply of supporting monitoring, reporting and verification products and services.
3. Concessional capital and financial guarantees: Develop and utilise solutions that de-risk nature-related investment opportunities.
4. Facilitate UK nature credit markets: Lead the way in developing robust and high integrity nature credit markets.
5. Develop long-term nature investment strategies: Financial institutions should utilise the growing suite of innovative market tools to invest in nature at scale.
6. Build on the UK’s already world leading regulatory architecture for sustainability: Seek out opportunities to strengthen or accelerate the deployment of nature-related regulation that supports the UK Government's Roadmap to Sustainable Investing.
7. Advance Central Bank oversight: The Bank of England and Prudential Regulation Authority should consider the necessary supervisory steps needed to ensure that the safety and soundness of regulated firms are not impacted by nature-related financial risks, while also securing an appropriate degree of protection for insurance policyholders from those risks.
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