State of Finance for Nature 2026: Funding Gap, Trends & Global Climate Action

Context

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released the State of Finance for Nature 2026 report.

Key Highlights of State of Finance for Nature 2026

• 30:1 Nature Finance Imbalance: For every US$1 invested in protecting nature, about US$30 is spent on nature-damaging activities, intensifying the “triple planetary crisis” of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
• Scale of Nature-Negative Finance:  In 2023, finance directly harmful to nature reached US$7.3–7.4 trillion, compared to only US$220 billion invested in Nature-based Solutions (NbS).
• Dominance of Private Capital:   Around US$5 trillion of nature-negative finance came from private investments in high-impact sectors such as energy, utilities, industrials, and basic materials,
• Harmful Subsidies: US$2.4 trillion flowed through environmentally harmful subsidies, mainly for fossil fuels, agriculture, and water use.
• Insufficient Investment in NbS:  NbS spending accounted for just 0.5% of global GDP (2024) and must rise 2.5 times to US$571 billion annually by 2030 to meet global climate and biodiversity commitments.
• Decline in Public and Philanthropic Support: Public spending on NbS-linked agriculture, forestry, and fisheries declined considerably, while private philanthropy declined sharply by 60%, between 2021 and 2023.
• Regional Disparities: Government NbS spending was highest in Asia (US$93 billion) in 2023, followed by North America and Europe, while spending fell sharply in Africa (−76%), the Middle East, and Oceania.

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