New fund for nature is called for by MPs, finance leaders and biodiversity experts
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MPs, finance leaders and biodiversity experts are calling on the government to support the private sector in scaling investments to protect nature.
Speaking at the Comment Central: Financing Nature’s Future panel event in Westminster on Wednesday, panellists called for a new fund for nature.
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The Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, Toby Perkins MP, was joined by Labour colleague Simon Opher MP, alongside Professor Mel Austen, President of the British Ecological Society and Nick Molho, Head of Sustainability Advocacy (UK & Ireland), Aviva.
A question from a public sector transport organisation identifying the difficulty of combining public and private sector funding for effective nature restoration schemes prompted the panel to discuss the potential for the creation of a new funding mechanism or green investment bank for nature restoration.
What is the government currently doing to protect nature?
The UK has made significant legal commitments to reverse biodiversity loss. Under the Environment Act 2021, the government is required to halt the decline of species abundance by 2030 and restore ecosystems by 2042.
It has also set out a revised Environmental Improvement Plan, a five-year roadmap to tackle the nature and climate crisis, improve public health and support sustainable growth. Nature will be boosted, according to the plan, with a quarter of a million hectares of wildlife-rich habitats created or restored by 2030 – an area larger than Greater London. In addition, £85 million will be allocated to improving and restoring peatlands, reducing flooding in communities and improving water quality and public health.
Under the new plan, hopes are to cut PM2.5 – harmful particulate matter in the air – by 30 per cent by 2030, compared to 2018 levels.
However, public funding alone is widely recognised as insufficient to meet these ambitions.
The UK currently faces a nature finance gap of between £44 billion and £97 billion over the next decade, highlighting the growing importance of mobilising private investment alongside government support.
‘Reversing biodiversity loss will require far greater investment in nature, and the private sector has a critical role to play alongside government. But investment must be guided by strong science as the latest IPBES assessment shows trillions of dollars still flow into activities that damage nature each year,’ said president of British Ecological Society, Professor Melanie Austen.
