Private sector adaptation finance and nature based solutions
As part of this year’s Climate Week NYC, SEI welcomes you to an event organized jointly with The Nature Conservancy and UNEP. Experts will share their views on how to increase funding for nature-based solutions to build resilience in coastal areas. The aim is to provide concrete recommendations on a finance roadmap to support nature-based solutions to reduce disaster risks.
Background
In 2018, nearly 62 million people were affected by climate events. Climate events, such as storms, droughts, and sea level rise will continue to occur even as we strive from no more than 1.5C change in temperature. As climate events occur more often, funding to help people adapt to climate change will also need to increase. The Global Commission on Adaptation estimates the cost of adaptation to be $180 billion per year between 2020 and 2030.
Most climate finance for adaptation comes from public and concessional sources, which is becoming scarce. Private investment in adaptation needs to be scaled up. More specifically investments into disaster risk mitigation in coastal areas need to be scaled up considering it receives the least amount of investments compared to any other adaptation sectors. Investing in coastal adaptation is especially important since more than 600 million people (around 10 per cent of the world’s population) live in coastal areas that are less than 10 meters above sea level.
Many adaptation activities require investments and finance so that they can be effectively implemented but adaptation activities that focus on nature-based solutions to address disasters are cost effective and offer multiple benefits. For instance, reefs and mangroves not only offer protection from wave heights and wind during storms, but they also enable people to economically benefit from them through fishing and tourism. Such ecosystems also provide food security.
The challenge is:
How can the private sector support nature-based solutions to help people adapt to climate change and build resilience to disasters? And what can be the potential financial targets for both the government and the private sector to build coastal resilience?
This is an apt question to discuss on the day of the Biodiversity Summit. We need to find a roadmap towards increased investment in Nature for the health of people and ecosystems.
Objectives
In this session, jointly organized by The Nature Conservancy, Stockholm Environment Institute, and UNEP; experts from climate finance, private sector, and adaptation fields will share their views on how to increase funding for nature-based solutions to build resilience in coastal areas. They will offer:
Evidence that nature-based solutions in coastal areas help people adapt to climate change
Financial instruments that can support nature-based solutions
Strategies on how the private sector can play a role in adaptation
By the end of the session, concrete recommendations will be provided on a financial roadmap to support nature-based solutions to reduce disaster risks.