The involvement of financial markets is critical to deliver effective and long-lasting solutions to mitigate climate change and reverse biodiversity loss. However, financial markets have not invested in ecosystem services because these are often valued based on non-market prices, which deter investments. Based on existing carbon market prices, we value the carbon services produced by forest elephants and show that wild animals’ carbon services are valuable enough to attract investors. This framework would facilitate financing of conservation programs and local
communities and broaden the portfolio of nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change

Frontiers in Climate: Policy Brief

By Ralph Chami, Marcelo Furtado and Simon Zadek

Produced for the Task Force on Nature Markets

Finance for Biodiversity

Read in "Marine & Oceans"

A Framework with Applications to Elephants and Whales

Technical paper on the methodology

Oceans are both the greatest victims of climate change and its greatest mitigators. This policy brief urges the G20 to strengthen the role of blue carbon (BC), nature-based solutions (NbS) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) at international forums and initiate funding mechanisms for their implementation. The G20 can further ocean science by including BC targets at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Convention on Biological Diversity, encourage countries to include these in Nationally-Determined Contributions and biodiversity targets, manage Marine Protected Areas through common international mechanisms, implement NbS to protect coastal ecosystems from pollution and enhance climate adaptation through EbA.

Finance & Development, IMF