The United Nations is calling for scaling up of funding towards nature based solutions in improving and conserving biodiversity by 2025.

A UN report calls for increasing the current US$154 billion a year in nature based solutions to US$384 by 2025.

The UN says that even as the world heads towards negotiations on the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, nature is still under-financed.

“If we are to limit global warming to below 1.5°C, halt biodiversity loss, achieve land degradation neutrality, and meet the Sustainable Development Goals, dramatic and urgent action is required on emissions reductions, the conservation of nature and sustainable consumption and production,” said Inger Anderson, Executive Director of UNEP. 

She notes that nature-based solutions provide an opportunity to tackle a range of challenges in an integrated manner. 

“The science is undeniable. As we transition to net-zero emissions by 2050, we must also reorient all human activity to ease the pressure on the natural world on which we all depend” said Inger Anderson, Executive Director of UNEP. “This requires governments, business and finance to massively step up investments in nature-based solutions because investments in nature are investments in securing the future for generations to follow.”

The report comes a week before governments from across the world are set to gather for the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) in Montreal, Canada, where they will adopt a landmark agreement to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. 

Among the key issues under discussion is the mobilization of resources for the implementation of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and investments in nature based solutions.

UNEP, along with partners, is urging governments to provide an agreement that sets a clear mandate for countries to require the financial sector to align its activities with nature positive goals.

The report further warns that efforts to grow the gross domestic product of countries in 2023 to avoid what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) calls the “darkest hour” may not succeed if governments do not pay attention to the fact that nature underpins many economies, hence the need to invest in nature based solutions.

“Solutions to our societal challenges must focus on transitioning economic activity towards practices that address the key drivers of biodiversity loss, land degradation and the climate breakdown,” the report indicates in part.