Investing in nature is an economic necessity rather than an environmental “luxury”, as climate inaction could cost €100 billion by 2029, according to EU discussions at this year’s EU Green Week in Brussels.
The event brought together policymakers, investors, businesses and civil society groups around the view that healthy ecosystems underpin Europe’s competitiveness, resilience, security and long-term prosperity, the European Commission reported on Thursday.
Climate and biodiversity inaction is already costing the EU billions, with extreme heatwaves, severe droughts and destructive floods adding up to losses “last summer alone.”
Those costs are expected to rise to “well over” €100 billion by 2029.
The Commission also cited estimates that every euro invested in restoring degraded ecosystems can generate up to €38 in economic returns.
It said the EU is already investing through biodiversity financing targets in the current EU budget, and that proposals for the next EU budget maintain those targets.
Nature credits and new finance models
Public funding on its own will not meet the investment need, and the EU is looking at new financing models such as “nature credits”, the Commission said.
Nature credits were described as a European-level framework being developed to reward activities that restore ecosystems, improve soil health and strengthen biodiversity, while giving investors “confidence, transparency and credibility.”
Green Week also hosted a “Re:Invest in Nature” matchmaking marketplace connecting eco-start-ups, projects and small and medium-sized enterprises working on nature-based solutions with private investors and public funders.
Examples discussed included tools designed to assess soil health and ocean clean-up projects backed by EU programmes such as BlueInvest, as well as regenerative farming, forest restoration to reduce wildfire risk, and urban greening initiatives.
Hundreds of partner events linked to Green Week are continuing across Europe throughout June, the Commission concluded.
