Finance Solutions for Nature 2025

The landscape of finance solutions for nature is evolving. Traditionally, financial resources for nature have been mobilized mostly through public, multilateral, philanthropic and concessional funding.15 Private sector financing for nature remains nascent and often reliant on blended structures. The sector has struggled to mobilize significant institutional capital, whether from pension funds or sovereign wealth funds. Definitions BOX 1 “Nature” – includes both biodiversity (i.e. living organisms and their ecosystem services) and geological processes and systems.16 “Natural capital” – comprises the world’s stock of natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable, and its flows of ecosystem and abiotic services. The natural capital “approach” refers to the connected processes of natural capital accounting and valuation. “Finance solutions for nature” – refer to all tools, mechanisms, instruments, capital sources and approaches designed to mobilize, allocate or manage financial resources for nature-related initiatives.17 “Nature-related initiatives” – include those that improve outcomes for nature relative to a baseline, through activities in conservation, restoration, regeneration, mitigation and sustainable usage. They cover at least one natural capital asset (e.g. forests, land, water, species) and typically include social and cultural co-benefits. Recently, the universe of finance solutions has become increasingly dynamic and flooded with innovative, market-based approaches.18,19,20 However, guidance is fragmented, with inconsistent methodologies and taxonomies, and limited clarity on performance or applicability.21 This makes it difficult to facilitate strategic engagement and informed decision-making by investors to identify which solutions align with their mandates. This report identifies 37 finance solutions for nature across four key categories (see Figure 1). Definitions for each solution are available in Appendix B. The list consolidates various guidance and organizes solutions by how capital is deployed and how payment terms are structured, rather than splitting them by their use or application. For example, standard commercial instruments such as loans and bonds are listed separately from their sustainability-linked counterparts. However, green bonds and blue bonds featuring use-of-proceeds are grouped together into “thematic” bonds. Prioritization can help investors focus market development activities and capital deployment. Each solution in Figure 1 is valuable and built to unlock capital for nature in different scenarios. However, not all solutions are ready for deployment at commercial scale or are effective at delivering nature-positive outcomes – both key drivers of capital allocation decisions. To identify priority solutions, this analysis scores each solution based on its potential for scale and nature impact, breaking these down into six criteria, outlined in Box 2 and Appendix A. Finance solutions have become increasingly innovative and market-based. However, guidance is fragmented, with limited clarity on performance or applicability. 9 Finance Solutions for Nature: Pathways to Returns and Outcomes