Green Returns: Unleashing the Power of Finance for Sustainable Food Systems

The report highlights a significant funding gap in sustainable food systems, which account for roughly one-third of global emissions but receive less than 4% of climate finance. It proposes five financial vehicles—supply chain finance, equity finance, insurance, debt, and blended finance—to de-risk the transition to climate-smart practices. The document identifies three primary barriers to scaling these tools: a lack of sector-specific knowledge, an inability to execute data-driven decisions due to non-standardized metrics, and the complexity of coordinating fragmented value chains. It concludes with a call for the establishment of a community of practice and industry benchmarks to catalyze investment.

• Food systems are a major driver of global emissions and environmental degradation, yet they are chronically underfunded, receiving less than 4% of total climate finance.
• There is a massive investment gap for food system transformation; current annual climate finance is approximately $20 billion, while the estimated yearly cost over the next decade is $300-350 billion.
• Five financial vehicles are identified to catalyze the transition: supply chain finance (e.g., sustainable payables), equity finance (e.g., venture capital for ag-tech), insurance (e.g., parametric weather insurance), debt (e.g., green bonds), and grants/blended finance.
• Blended finance is an effective de-risking tool for private investors, with the market size for agricultural blended finance reaching an aggregate of $13.4 billion.
• Financial institutions face three primary barriers to scaling investment: a lack of sector-specific knowledge, the inability to make data-driven decisions, and the complexity of coordinating across the food value chain.
• The lack of standardized sustainability metrics and reporting frameworks prevents financial institutions from benchmarking performance and increases the risk of greenwashing.
• Coordination is hindered by the cost premium of sustainable products, limited government policy support, and a lack of trust between financial institutions and on-the-ground stakeholders like farmers.

APA

World Economic Forum (2023). Green Returns: Unleashing the Power of Finance for Sustainable Food Systems. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Green_Returns_2023.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Green Returns: Unleashing the Power of Finance for Sustainable Food Systems. 2023. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Green_Returns_2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Green Returns: Unleashing the Power of Finance for Sustainable Food Systems |date=July 2023 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Green_Returns_2023.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2023green, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Green Returns: Unleashing the Power of Finance for Sustainable Food Systems}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2023}, month = jul, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Green_Returns_2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }