Financial Sector Guidebook on Nature-Based Solutions Investment: Aligning Investment With Impacts and Showcasing Examples

The document outlines how financial institutions can integrate nature-based solutions (NBS) into their strategies to address systemic risks from nature loss, which affects over half of global economic sectors. It identifies three strategic domains for NBS opportunities: risk mitigation and portfolio resilience, sustainable financial growth, and emerging market innovations. To overcome barriers such as lack of standardized metrics and high transaction costs, the guide recommends using innovative instruments like sustainability-linked loans and green bonds, while emphasizing the need for science-based impact measurement and reformed incentive structures.

• Financial institutions face systemic threats to asset performance and stability because more than 50% of global economic sectors are highly dependent on nature, leaving them exposed to physical and transitional risks from ecosystem degradation.
• Mainstream adoption of nature-based solutions (NBS) is hindered by several factors, including a lack of standardized metrics and definitions, limited internal technical capacity, high transaction costs for small projects, and misalignment with short-term investment expectations.
• Financial institutions can utilize NBS across three primary strategic domains: mitigating risks within existing portfolios, supporting sustainable financial growth, and accessing emerging markets through innovative financing models.
• Specific sectors with high exposure to nature-related risks that offer significant potential for NBS investments include real estate, utilities, tourism, and agriculture, food and beverage.
• Scaling NBS requires the use of innovative financial instruments, such as special purpose vehicles, green bonds, catalytic capital, and sustainability-linked loans, alongside science-based measurement of social, environmental, and financial impacts.

APA

World Resources Institute (2025). Financial Sector Guidebook on Nature-Based Solutions Investment: Aligning Investment With Impacts and Showcasing Examples. https://www.wri.org/research/financial-sector-guidebook-nature-based-solutions-investment

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Financial Sector Guidebook on Nature-Based Solutions Investment: Aligning Investment With Impacts and Showcasing Examples. 2025. https://www.wri.org/research/financial-sector-guidebook-nature-based-solutions-investment.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Financial Sector Guidebook on Nature-Based Solutions Investment: Aligning Investment With Impacts and Showcasing Examples |date=25 June 2025 |url=https://www.wri.org/research/financial-sector-guidebook-nature-based-solutions-investment |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2025financial, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Financial Sector Guidebook on Nature-Based Solutions Investment: Aligning Investment With Impacts and Showcasing Examples}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/financial-sector-guidebook-nature-based-solutions-investment}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }