Financial institutions are struggling to effectively incorporate these considerations into their decision-making processes from both a risk and opportunity perspective. A key challenge is the lack of standardised, high-quality data on natural capital, that makes it difficult for financial actors to accurately measure, monitor, and mitigate their nature-related exposures. Moreover, the interconnected and non-linear relationships between economic activities and natural systems complicate the quantification of financial materiality of nature-related risks. The long-term value creation and risk mitigation associated with ecosystem restoration, sustainable resource management, and biodiversity conservation may not align with the shorter-term performance metrics that often drive investment decisions. Adding to these difficulties, the benefits of nature-positive investments are not always immediately apparent or easily measurable in terms of financial returns. This mismatch can discourage financial institutions from integrating nature-related considerations into their financing and investment strategies.

While the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures and the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge are working towards addressing these gaps, there is a need to meaningfully integrate nature-related risks into financial decision-making and sharply increase capital flows towards nature-positive sectors.

In response to these challenges, under the aegis of Climate Week New York 2024, auctusESG, Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP), Association of Development Finance Institutions of Malaysia (ADFIM), and Iora are organising a webinar titled, Nature-related risks and opportunities: financing nature-positive climate action in emerging markets. This webinar aims to explore the critical barriers and enablers in integrating nature-related considerations in decision-making at the policy and financing level, as well as in accelerating capital towards nature-positive sectors in emerging markets. This webinar seeks to bring together finance professionals, central bankers, policymakers and experts in natural capital in emerging markets to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and insights to scale the implementation of nature-positive solutions.