News: Nature Finance Impact Hub Newsletter (Q1 23/24)
The end of summer has brought with it some cooler temperatures, although things have remained warm in the world of nature finance. In this quarterly edition of the Nature Finance Impact Hub newsletter we’ll be shining a light on the latest news in green finance and nature!
There has been a flurry of activity as projects continue to grow and reach market readiness, and it’s great to see more public/ private sector partnerships being announced. In this edition, we’ll be focusing on some of those announcements, updates to the BNG market, new funding calls, and the recently released NEIRF evaluation case studies.
BNG Spotlight
We open this newsletter by sharing our recently published deep-dive on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). This is the first in a series of articles navigating the complex world of nature finance. With the weight of the Environment Act, BNG can play a significant role in protecting and restoring our habitats. The Government has since confirmed the 10% BNG target will come into force in January 2024. BNG for small sites will be applicable from April 2024, and implementation for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects is planned for 2025. BNG is also a financial lever, seeking effectively to value and “price in” nature to the development and construction sector, in turn helping to channel more funds into biodiversity creation. You can read more about BNG and what it means here. We feature over 20 live BNG projects within the Nature Finance Impact Hub, and we’re seeing more UK projects gearing up, with 54 projects under development. One of those projects is the Spains Hall Estate, whose work with nature restoration has resulted in the creation of 500 biodiversity units for sale.
Nature finance in the news:
The interest in green finance continues to grow, with significant developments in standards and frameworks across the industry in the last few months. Below are a few of the top highlights.
UK Nature Finance Project Directory published
The GFI Hive recently released its new directory, providing a list of initiatives looking to attract private investors. Ecosystem service delivery across the portfolio includes carbon sequestration, biodiversity enhancement, and natural flood management. The directory can be found here.
Task force for Nature Related Financial Disclosure Update
The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures has continued in its path to help organisations report and take action on nature-related challenges. They have recently released recommendations that help in reporting and acting on evolving nature-related issues.
New UK Financial Institutions for Nature Group
In July, the Green Finance Institute established the GFI Hive UK Financial Institutions for Nature Group (G-FIN). The Group aims to increase private sector finance in line with government strategy by providing input into topics including nature market development, investment tracking, and framework uptake. With representation from across the financial sector, initial members include Aviva, the UK Infrastructure Bank and Triodos Bank.
Ella’s Kitchen partners with RSPB to conserve nature
Baby food brand Ella’s Kitchen has partnered with the RSPB to support conservation and restoration of wildflower meadows in the UK. Aiming to recover habitats for birds, bees and orchids across Lancashire and Otmoor until 2030, the B Corp will also work to integrate nature into the company strategy.
Funding Opportunities & Market Development
NEIRF round 2 evaluation – Case study
In its second round of funding, the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund provided £4.6 million to 57 projects across England and Wales. Over three-quarters of round two projects are planning activities across more than one ecosystem service. An evaluation has now been published shining a light on some the outcomes of these projects and how they’ve approached market readiness. Read more about these projects here. One project, led by the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group South West, is looking at the development of minimum requirements for a soil carbon code. The project is aimed at farmers and land managers as sellers of a soil carbon credit, for sale on the voluntary carbon market. It is hoped that land practices generating soil carbon credits could also have positive impacts on soil health, water quality, biodiversity, and ait quality, which could be stacked or bundled into a credit. Read more about the minimum requirements here, including guidance on additionality, permanence, transparency, and reversals.
New Peatland Recovery Grant
The Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme (NCPGS) provides funding to restore peatlands in the uplands and lowlands of England. It is a competitive grant scheme that will run until 2025. The scheme aims to restore 35,000 hectares of degraded peatland in England and targets emissions by 9 million tCO2e by 2050. It has already helped fund a number of peatland restoration projects, with another £16 million invested across twelve projects in England announced in August. The scheme is open to environmental groups, local authorities, charities, public bodies, individual landowners and organisations. Learn more and apply here.
Landscape Recovery Round 2
In May this year, Defra announced a second round of the Landscape Recovery Scheme fund, open to farmers, landowners, and land managers, including tenants, supporting projects covering at least 500 hectares. The funding aims to support large-scale, collaborative projects that deliver environmental and climate benefits across landscapes. The first round of funding was highly successful, receiving an oversubscription of 51 applications for the 15 advertised places, ultimately granting funding to 22 projects. The current round focuses on achieving net zero, protecting designated sites, and enhancing wildlife-rich habitats. Round 2 projects will be exploring agri-environment schemes that work alongside nature improvements, and Round 1 projects already feature within the Nature Finance Impact Hub. We aim to include the Round 2 projects once confirmed!
Scottish data for nature
The Nature Finance Impact Hub team have been engaging with the Wildlife Information Centre, who curate a database with over 3 million records on biological data. This data can help provide geo-spatial information to help both the public and private sector in meeting their environmental duties. You can learn more about the Wildlife Information Centre here. The team are exploring how we can leverage this existing data to help further nature finance and the restoration of natural capital.
Social media highlights
The following projects were featured recently from the Nature Finance Impact Hub, shedding a light on some of the regenerative agriculture projects given the recent Landscape Recovery funding development. Follow us to see more project highlights and to showcase some of the great work taking place in nature restoration.
💰Project: Nebraska Soil Carbon Pilot Project
🌎Location: Nebraska, USA
🌱Ecosystem service: Regenerative agriculture, carbon
Since last time we have also shared case studies from the GreenCollar reef credit scheme in Australia, the Mirova Land Degradation Neutrality Fund in the Phillippines, the Highlands Rewilding Bunloit Estate project in the UK, and the Loisaba Wilderness Project in Kenya. Follow us @nfimpacthub www.twitter.com/nfimpacthub
Impact Hub latest numbers
108
Projects under development
89
Nature positive green finance projects
15
Ecosystem services
29
Countries
1.9M
Hectares restored
10.1M
Tonnes CO2e captured
8.0M
Hectares conserved
Impact Hub project map
Explore the interactive map below to see where the projects captured in the hub are taking place across the world.
Submit your project
We are constantly looking for new and exciting project data to add to the Hub which we hope will help to develop strong business cases for investors, as well as build confidence for landowners and project developers who are interested in leveraging green finance for nature. If you would like to submit your project to the Hub, please fill out the form on the hub here.