Nature-based Solutions, Green Infrastructure

As part of a series of publications to help financial institutions understand the relevance and implications of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), this briefing provides banks a first overview of how the GBF applies to their industry, through the axes of risk, opportunities, dependencies and impacts. It aims to support the industry in managing associated risks, capturing relevant opportunities and preparing for anticipated policy developments that will yield new compliance and disclosure requirements.

 

The State of Finance for Nature is a series that aims to quantify public and private finance flows to nature-based solutions and the extent to which finance flows are aligned with global targets and the investment needed to limit global warming to below 1.5°C, halt biodiversity loss and achieve land degradation neutrality. It has a broader scope than the inaugural report in 2021.

In the face of unprecedented biodiversity loss, 196 countries adopted in December 2022 the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) providing a global framework to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. This report provides an overview of the goals of the GBF and recommendations on how investors should implement them. It supports investors in managing associated risks and preparing for anticipated policy developments.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) have gained traction in recent years because of their potential to promote sustainable development and reduce disaster risks. In addition to their socioeconomic benefits for people, NBS can be used for up to 37 percent of the climate mitigation actions needed to achieve the emissions goals of the Paris Agreement.

This strategy paper draws from existing research and practical project experience applying nature-based solutions (NBS) for adaptation and building climate resilience in informal areas to better understand the potential for upscaling implementation as well as the challenges.

 

Green spaces in urban areas supply multiple benefits, however, this was thought to come at the cost of density. New evidence argues that while there is often a trade-off between increased density and providing green space, this does not need to be the case. In parts of the US, Singapore and Curitiba, there are examples showing that an urban world that is both green and dense is possible, if society chooses to take advantage of the available green interventions.

 

The IUCN Urban Alliance, a broad coalition of IUCN constituents concerned with the urban dimensions of nature conservation, has unveiled a new knowledge product for measuring the ecological performance of cities: the IUCN Urban Nature Indexes (UNI). Comprising six themes with five indicator topics nested within each theme, the UNI is intended to help policymakers, stakeholders and local communities understand their impacts on nature, set science-based targets for improvement, and monitor progress using science-based measures.

Reducing excess urban heat and protecting populations from extreme temperatures is one of the 21st century’s key resilience and sustainability challenges. As the planet warms, cities are increasingly finding that they need new ways to keep urban temperatures down to protect their residents. Urban cooling options have primarily focused on space cooling through air conditioning. Nature-based solutions and leveraging urban design to cool cities have yet to be fully deployed and understood, especially by policymakers and urban planners.