The 'how' of nature investing: still in the making
Photo credit: Kunal Shinde/Unsplash
It’s been a busy spring.
In May, Imperial College London’s Business School released a briefing paper discussing the case for nature investments in Southeast Asia. In it, I argue that nature investments represent a powerful and logical response to the mounting climate and nature crisis in the region. While the public sector must assume overall responsibility for protecting and restoring nature, private capital has a role to play in furnishing the US$200 billion per annum that could be required in the region. The briefing paper offers investors a menu of investment options. A webinar discussing the report’s findings was held on July 24, 2023, hosted by the Singapore Green Finance Centre.
If we were to generate a word cloud from sustainability discussions over the past year, biodiversity is likely to figure prominently. But who invests in biodiversity? What drives some companies to voluntarily adopt biodiversity actions? And to what extent can the actions be scaled up, and how? These were the research questions asked by Impax Asset Management, and which resulted in a report published this spring. A key finding was that biodiversity tends to be embedded into broader strategic or commercial objectives and is pursued only when it delivers co-benefits or win-win outcomes alongside other objectives. We look forward to hosting a conference discussion with Impax Asset Management and other industry experts on nature and biodiversity this autumn.
The voluntary carbon market – which allows for the use of carbon offsets in reaching climate goals – can play a role in driving investments into nature. Yet, criticism of both the quality of projects and the risk that corporates use offsets to shirk responsibility of reducing own emissions have – rightly – held the market back. I hosted a lively debate between one of the journalists responsible for bringing the discussion to broad public attention earlier this year (Patrick Greenfield of The Guardian) and two experts involved in developing the market (Guy Turner of Trove Research and Tommy Ricketts of BeZeroCarbon). The event, held on June 20th, is available to watch on YouTube.
What I find most interesting with all of this is that we are constantly rethinking and refining solutions. Nothing is settled. Some of those responsible for inspiring me these days are:
Simon Sharpe who in his book Five Time Faster argues for a new approach to climate change science, economics and diplomacy
And just this morning I enjoyed reading the response to these two elegantly posed questions: How can we build momentum and scale in an industry that should be kept as small as possible? And what if demand for its product predominantly comes from sources that should not use it? The authors take the discussion on the use of offsets to the next level, making clear and interesting arguments. A joy to read