Report urges “green” investment must triple by 2030

A new report urges investment in nature-based solutions to be tripled by 2030 and quadrupled by 2050, warning that if the status quo remains the same, it will cause damage to the economy, the planet, and humanity. Irreversible destruction.

A new “State of Natural Finance Report” warns that by 2030, public and private investment must increase from the current US$133 billion to US$350 billion, otherwise it will face a gap of US$4.1 trillion by 2050.

One of the co-authors of the report, Teresa Hartmann, head of climate and nature at the World Economic Forum, told Al Jazeera: “This is feasible, but it is not yet complete.”

“If we take existing funding flows, recovery plans, subsidies, taxes, and redistribute them, this is actually an achievable goal.”

“The State of Nature Finance Report” was prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Land Degradation Economics Initiative and the Vivid Economics Organization, and was jointly funded by the governments of Germany and Luxembourg.

The author urges political leaders and businesses to seize the opportunities presented by the coronavirus pandemic and guide unprecedented fiscal stimulus measures to rebuild a “greener” environment.

“At present, huge expenditures have been incurred on recovery, but they have not been spent in the right place. We do have the opportunity to rebuild a better market, but we have not yet.” Hartman said.

The report found that only 2.5% of the total US$14.6 trillion in fiscal expenditure announced by the government was allocated to the green plan, while in fact about 14% to 15% of the expenditure is harmful to nature.

According to the authors, half of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) relies on nature, agriculture, food, beverages, and construction and other nature-related sectors to create an average of US$8 trillion in total value added per year.

Ivo Mulder, head of UNEP climate finance, told Al Jazeera that post-COVID public financing must be consistent with the goals outlined in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and the expected Kunming Biodiversity Agreement .

The private sector can also play an important role.

“Businesses and financiers have huge opportunities to expand investment in sustainable supply chains, forest carbon and other natural climate solutions, but this requires public and private actors to take risks,” Mulder said.

One way to motivate the private sector to go “green” is to attach climate clauses to the recovery plan.

The Dutch government’s multi-billion dollar bailout for KLM has such additional conditions-requiring the airline to cut emissions in half by 2030.

Hartman said: “There is a turning point. If we don’t do this by 2030, it’s as if we can’t do it before 2040.” “If we can spend $2 trillion on military security every year, then we It should definitely be able to spend 350 billion U.S. dollars on planetary security.”

Hartman said that it is fairly easy to attract companies to where they want to spend through appropriate fiscal incentives, and exemplifies government-imposed tariff barriers that can inspire the private sector to conduct business in a more sustainable manner.

Earlier this year, Switzerland signed a bilateral trade agreement with Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil producer and exporter, to reduce palm oil import tariffs, provided that the oil is produced sustainably.

Such incentives can help bridge the gap between public and private spending and bring the world closer to funding green initiatives.

Hartman said: “What we mean is that if you don’t invest in nature, you will threaten food security, water security, and human livelihoods.” “It’s basically human life.”