Global investment destroying nature, UNEP calls for change at WSDS

UNEP's Dechen Tsering highlighted a stark financial imbalance, with USD 30 spent degrading nature for every USD 1 invested positively. She called for a massive scale-up of funding for nature-based solutions at the WSDS 2026 to reverse the trend.

Warning that global investment patterns are overwhelmingly tilted toward environmental destruction, Dechen Tsering, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), on Thursday called for a dramatic scale-up of funding for nature-based solutions at the World Sustainable Development Summit 2026.

Addressing the summit under the theme "Transforming through and for Nature", Tsering highlighted that the current decade has been declared the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, with a global pledge to restore one billion hectares of degraded land. "When you talk about reforesting, land restoration, they are all nature-based solutions that enhance resilience, restore nature, give you food security, create jobs, improve public health," she said. She added that such solutions are equally critical in urban areas, helping reconnect communities with nature while moderating rising temperatures.

A Stark Financial Imbalance

However, she underscored a stark imbalance in global financing. "We just released the State of Finance for Nature report this January, and for every dollar we invest in nature, we invest 30 dollars to degrade it," Tsering said, describing the challenge as "really quite an uphill task."

Citing 2023 figures, Tsering said USD 7.3 trillion flowed into nature-negative activities, compared to just USD 220 billion for nature-positive investments, roughly 10 per cent of total flows.

Of that USD 220 billion, she noted, 90 per cent came from the public sector, with only 10 per cent contributed by private finance. "This really is not the story globally. We are talking about this area being significantly underfunded," she said.

Global Efforts and Funding Examples

Tsering pointed to Norway as one of the few countries making substantial investments in nature-based solutions and highlighted initiatives such as the UN-REDD Programme, which supports reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. She cited Indonesia as an example of a country that secured significant funding to safeguard its tropical forests, calling such investments crucial for creating synergies between climate action and biodiversity protection.

The Path Forward: A Call for Systemic Reform

To meet existing restoration and climate targets, Tsering stressed that investments would need to increase 2.5 times to at least 0.5 per cent of global GDP. "We are going to both mobilise new capital, but we need to reform existing financial flows," she said.

She called for aligning public expenditure with nature and climate objectives, repurposing harmful subsidies, and redesigning fiscal frameworks to incentivise nature-positive investment. "We know we have to make a case with the private sector," she added, emphasising that scaling finance will require systemic reform rather than incremental change.

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) is organising the 25th edition of the summit, describing it as an important platform for advancing dialogue and partnerships on sustainable development. (ANI)

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