World is facing dearth of funds for nature based solutions says, Inger Andersen

Nairobi: Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Inger Andersen raised concerns over the dearth of funding for the Nature -based Solution to tackle the climate crisis and land degradation goals.

“Unfortunately, Nature-based Solutions are underfunded. They receive only US$200 billion globally per year, less than a third of what is needed per year by 2030” Inger Andersen said at the ongoing Sixth United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA-6) in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

She said, “They are being undone by US$7 trillion in nature-negative finance that flows annually from harmful subsidies and investments”.

Considering these numbers, it’s clear that realigning nature-negative finance flows is the best way to halt and reverse nature loss, Andersen noted.

The assembly, she said, was gathering in Nairobi, to find “inclusive multilateral solutions” to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss and the crisis of pollution and waste.

“We are doing so because a stable climate, healthy nature and pollution-free planet are the bedrock of our societies and economies,” the director remarked.
Andersen spoke at a session on Science-Policy Business Forum also made a case for nature- based solutions to the triple crisis, particularly in urban settings.

To do that we need to change the incentives – policy, she said …”We need to provide the data on long term economic losses – science. We need to shift business practices and the very understanding of bankability – business” Andersen said.