In order to mobilise the financial resources needed to address the urgency of nature and biodiversity loss, Finance Watch called on the EU to demonstrate a “fresh mindset”, combining public and private funding. In a new report, released on Monday 4 May, it makes several recommendations to increase the funds available to protect and restore nature.
“Private and public funding is needed to make a difference; this is the key message”, said Thierry Philipponnat, Director of Research and Advocacy at Finance Watch, during the online presentation of the report.
According to the organisation, policy makers should not “expect too much” from private funding, which is only a “partial solution” to be complemented by public funding.
Amounts of public or mixed funding, at national or European level, could be increased by setting targets, easing certain constraints on public spending and ensuring more effective monitoring of public spending on nature and biodiversity, the report details.
To this end, Finance Watch further recommends that environmental objectives, including biodiversity, be fully integrated and prioritised in the European Semester process.
All other recommendations relate to measurement and evaluation. The organisation advocates mandating the Platform on Sustainable Finance to develop a harmonised system of measures and methodologies to assess the impacts, risks and dependencies of economic and financial activities on biodiversity and nature.
It also suggests reviewing the EU system for monitoring the impact of public budgets on nature and biodiversity and assessing the effectiveness and adequacy of existing and new economic instruments in relation to their environmental objectives.
Finance Watch is looking forward to the EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy and hopes that it will seek to integrate biodiversity into the EU’s economic governance. The environmental objectives should also be part of the post-coronavirus recovery of the European economy, in the form of a “recovery and transition plan”.
See the report: https://bit.ly/3fhVrgw (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)