Outlook for the UK nature finance pipeline

There is uncertainty amongst nature finance project developers about market rules and the price of ecosystem service markets. On top of this, local communities and individual citizens are concerned about issues such as land tenure and sharing of benefits from new sources of private finance being deployed on land, water and nature. This is especially the case in Wales and Scotland, where land ownership has been a contentious issue far back in time.

The risks and costs (both time and money) that projects need to take on up-front were often perceived to fall too heavily on the projects themselves (especially smaller projects such as voluntary groups or family farms). Possible solutions to this are found in Appendix 5 – ‘Supplementary observations and recommendations’.

If these concerns can be allayed, then nature finance can become an integral part of green enterprise and a key dimension of helping rural and coastal economies to become more resilient and sustainable. It can also grow from a minor contributor in addressing the financing and funding gap for nature to a major one.

Over the next few years, demand for nature finance projects is likely to grow. The Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures, which publishes its final framework in September 2023, will lead businesses and investors to examine their investments and supply chains and to find ways to deliver both net zero and nature positive through activities in the UK.

In advancing nature finance in the UK, the ultimate objectives should always be borne in mind. Arguably, it is not for individual projects to reach investment readiness or for the deployment of certain sums of private finance in environmental improvement. Instead, there is a broader need for the natural environment to be more fully valued and restored for everyone’s wellbeing and prosperity.

Nature finance involves new relationships between people. Sometimes these are local, as in the case of community banking, community enterprises and the formation of farm clusters. It also has the potential to connect financial institutions and large corporates with relatively small enterprises around the UK and the local communities in which they operate. Based on the insight gained through this Review, these largely untested relationships present risk and opportunity in equal measure. The success of nature-based enterprise until now has been based upon meaningful collaboration and partnership. It is likely that ongoing success of the sector will continue to depend on this.

The UK is one of the world’s most nature-depleted countries. Just half of our biodiversity is left – with more than one in seven of our native species facing extinction, and over 40% in decline. Our pledges and our promises must become decisive actions.

Formerly the Natural Capital Finance & Investment Conference, this September’s Nature Finance UK 2023 Conference will inspire even more substantial and essential private investment in UK nature projects. Engage with keynote speakers, panel discussions and special guests, hear briefings and investor perspectives – alongside over 400 professionals from financial services, corporate sustainability, conservation, land management and government.

Whether you’re a natural capital specialist or landowner, an organisation looking to attract funding or deliver on your corporate sustainability targets, learn from and contribute to expert-led discussions that:

Challenge inertia in vital UK nature investment

Provoke greener, more sustainable ways of doing business in the UK

Shape the future of the UK, as speakers reveal how nature can jointly tackle both climate and biodiversity claims

Our Organisers

The conference is being organised by the awardwinning Ecosystems Knowledge Network (EKN). Green Finance Institute (GFI) is our event partner.

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