Promoting investments in NBS and accelerating market uptake by gaining a better understanding of the economic performance of NBS, considering climate mitigation and risk reduction

Currently there is a range of Nature-based solutions (NBS) emerging mostly with strong public funding elements, but a market for NBS has not yet emerged. While mostly small scale NBS are implemented as pilots for urban resilience to climate change the full range of economic and societal benefits for NBS are not systematically understood and mapped and are not sufficiently used to back the business and investment case for NBS. The numerous benefits may include mitigation and adaptation to climate change (including the reduction of urban heat island effect and flood mitigation), reduction of pollution, improved biodiversity and ecosystem services, increased well-being for citizens, including physical and mental health or recreation, social cohesion, and community building. While effort for climate change mitigation and adaptation are increasing, the role of NBS in this context is not well understood. In particular, risk reduction of NBS for the private and public insurance sector has not yet been systematically included in economic valuation of NBS. Holistic understanding of benefits and benefit flows however are important for the society including upscaling and maximising the benefits achievable with NBS and activation financing for NBS. The overall project aim of Invest4Nature is to gain a better understanding of the economic and financial performance of NBS, considering their role for mitigation as well as climate risk reduction, to promote upscaling and investments in NBS, and to accelerate market uptake. The project has a strong involvement of stakeholders to co-produce solutions, having several NBS Living Labs and a wide NBS community (including project developers, decision makers and funding and financing institutions) at hand, co-producing new evaluation and financing approaches as well as tools, covering NBS in different contexts (e.g., urban, rural, coastal). This is the basis for empowering stakeholders and create and structure a future NBS market.