UNEP Report Exposes Trillions in Nature-Negative Global Finance

For every US$1 the world invests in protecting nature, it spends US$30 on destroying it. This stark imbalance is the central finding of a new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report released today, which calls for a major shift in global financing toward nature-based solutions (NbS) and the phased withdrawal of environmentally harmful investments.

The State of Finance for Nature 2026 report, which uses 2023 data, reveals that nature-negative finance flows totalled US$7.3 trillion globally. Of this, US$4.9 trillion came from private sources, highly concentrated in just a few sectors—utilities, industrials, energy, and basic materials. In addition, public environmentally harmful subsidies to fossil fuels, agriculture, water, transport, and construction amounted to US$2.4 trillion in 2023.

In contrast, finance flows to nature-based solutions stood at just US$220 billion, with nearly 90 per cent coming from public sources. This reflects a steady rise in domestic and international support for NbS, but highlights a persistent gap in private sector engagement. Private investment in NbS totalled only US$23.4 billion, about 10 per cent of overall NbS financing, showing that businesses and financial institutions have yet to invest at scale, despite growing awareness of nature-related risks and opportunities.

According to the report, NbS investments must increase 2.5 times to reach US$571 billion per year by 2030. Even then, this would represent only 0.5 per cent of global GDP in 2024.

“If you follow the money, you see the size of the challenge ahead of us. We can either invest in nature’s destruction or power its recovery, there is no middle ground,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “While financing for nature-based solutions crawls forward, harmful investments and subsidies are surging ahead. This report offers leaders a clear roadmap to reverse this trend and work with nature, rather than against it.”

Recognising that reforming and repurposing public and private capital flows is the most powerful lever for shifting markets toward sustainability, the report introduces the Nature Transition X-Curve. This new framework is designed to help policymakers and businesses sequence reforms, phase out harmful subsidies, and scale up high-integrity NbS across all sectors of the economy.

The framework outlines a pathway for dismantling destructive investment patterns in entrenched production systems, while simultaneously accelerating nature-positive investments. It also provides specific options for both public and private sector actors across supply chains.

“The world’s financial flows need an urgent shift, from degrading the environment to investing in nature-based solutions,” said H.E. Reem Alabali-Radovan, Germany’s Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development. “The private sector plays a key role in this transition. German development policy supports partner countries in valuing their natural capital so it can inform key policy decisions, helping to build a sustainable and future-proof economy.”

The Nature Transition X-Curve further offers roadmaps to support the emergence of a trillion-dollar nature transition economy. The report highlights examples already being implemented by governments and businesses worldwide, including greening urban areas to reduce heat-island effects, embedding nature into road and energy infrastructure, and producing emissions-negative building materials using captured carbon dioxide.

The report emphasises that all nature-positive investments must be grounded in local ecological, cultural, and social contexts, while ensuring inclusivity, equity, and community participation.