Cost-effective nature-based solutions can help improve resilience, restore the environment and reduce pollution in cities. Investing in urban nature: triple benefits for people and planet Climate and Environment
Developing sustainable solutions for cities requires investments that cannot be provided due to the lack of specialized financial mechanisms, according to a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The report was presented today during the 8th Subnational Governments and Cities Summit, which is taking place within the framework of the UN Conference on Biodiversity (COP-16) in Colombia.
The State of Urban Nature Finance report, produced in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, highlights the resource gap and the need for reliable data as the impact of climate shocks on cities and urban areas increases worldwide.
Experts say cost-effective nature-based solutions can build resilience, restore the environment and reduce pollution in cities. In addition, investing in urban ecology can increase the scale and access to low-carbon cooling, UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted in his call to action to tackle extreme heat earlier this year.
Financing nature-based solutions
However, scaling up such action requires investments that cities are unable to provide due to a lack of specialized financial mechanisms, skills and data, according to a new UNEP report.
“Nature has enormous potential to transform our world, but nature-based solutions remain underfunded,” said Miri Atallah, head of UNEP’s Adaptation and Resilience Branch. “While $7 trillion is spent on activities that harm nature, only $200 billion is spent on nature-based solutions, and not enough is going to cities.”
Assessing the current situation
Urban areas are home to more than half the world’s population and account for 80 percent of global gross domestic product. At the same time, they account for 70 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. To minimize the environmental impact of cities, local governments must reap greater benefits from investing in nature, experts say.
The first step is to assess the current situation. The report offers recommendations for integrating nature-based solutions into urban finance systems and shows the cost structure of such activities. The recommendations are based on lessons learned from UNEP’s Generation Restoration and UrbanShift projects.
The report also presents standards and criteria for collecting data on investments in local nature-based solutions. With this information, cities can demonstrate the value of spending on nature-based measures to governments, investors and residents, and attract more resources.
Advancing Green Development
A simplified data collection system and improved financial planning will allow cities to better track and evaluate the effectiveness of nature-based solutions. The paper also highlights potential challenges and barriers and offers a roadmap for overcoming them and advancing green development.
“The report is highly consistent with the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework on Biodiversity,” said Jeanie Birch, co-director of the Pennsylvania Institute for Urban Research at the University of Pennsylvania. Urban nature-based solutions have the triple benefits of increasing biodiversity, building resilience to climate change, and protecting the well-being of local residents, she said.