Unlocking funds for nature: How the next EU budget must deliver for biodiversity

The policy brief argues that current EU biodiversity financing is insufficient and inefficient, with funding needs estimated at EUR 48.15 billion per year. It proposes the creation of a dedicated biodiversity conservation and restoration fund, the strengthening of biodiversity mainstreaming through legally binding spending targets and reduced administrative barriers for small projects, and the implementation of a mandatory methodology to identify and phase out environmentally harmful subsidies. The brief emphasizes that the EU's current 'mainstreaming' approach often deprioritizes nature in favor of short-term infrastructure projects and calls for a revised tracking methodology to prevent greenwashing.

• Biodiversity financing needs for the 2021-2030 period have been revised upward from an initial estimate of EUR 20 billion per year to EUR 48.15 billion per year.
• The EU's 'mainstreaming' strategy, which integrates biodiversity into broader funding streams, often fails because biodiversity projects compete with large-scale infrastructure projects that offer more immediate outcomes and stronger political support.
• The EU is projected to miss its 2026 target of allocating 10 per cent of its budget to biodiversity, with estimates suggesting it will only reach 8.4 per cent.
• High administrative requirements, pre-financing, and co-financing demands create a gap that prevents small-scale conservation projects from accessing EU funds, leading to low absorption rates outside the LIFE programme.
• EU Member States spend between EUR 34 billion and EUR 48 billion annually on subsidies that harm nature, with 60 per cent of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) identified as a primary source.
• The 'do no significant harm' (DNSH) principle is currently ineffective because it is often treated as a one-time 'tick-the-box' exercise and is frequently misinterpreted by national authorities.
• The EU Natura 2000 network provides significant economic value, generating annual benefits between EUR 200 billion and EUR 300 billion and creating 30,000 jobs for every EUR 1 billion invested in site management.

APA

ClientEarth (2024). Unlocking funds for nature: How the next EU budget must deliver for biodiversity. https://www.clientearth.org/media/tmspeh0a/2024_07_unlocking-funds-for-nature_how-the-next-eu-budget-must-deliver-for-biodiversity.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Unlocking funds for nature: How the next EU budget must deliver for biodiversity. 2024. https://www.clientearth.org/media/tmspeh0a/2024_07_unlocking-funds-for-nature_how-the-next-eu-budget-must-deliver-for-biodiversity.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=Unlocking funds for nature: How the next EU budget must deliver for biodiversity |date=9 July 2024 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/tmspeh0a/2024_07_unlocking-funds-for-nature_how-the-next-eu-budget-must-deliver-for-biodiversity.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2024unlocking, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Unlocking funds for nature: How the next EU budget must deliver for biodiversity}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/tmspeh0a/2024_07_unlocking-funds-for-nature_how-the-next-eu-budget-must-deliver-for-biodiversity.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }