A new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reveals that global investments heavily favour environmental destruction over conservation.
Titled “The State of Finance for Nature 2026” and released on Thursday, the report, obtained in Benin, Edo, found that for every $1 spent on protecting ecosystems, $30 is directed toward activities that harm the environment.
The UNEP report paints a troubling picture of global financial flows, showing that although nature-based solutions are gaining attention, they remain far smaller than investments and subsidies driving environmental degradation.
Using 2023 data, the study highlighted that trillions of dollars continue to flow into nature-negative sectors, including energy, utilities, industrial, and basic materials, with these flows reinforced by public subsidies for fossil fuels, agriculture, transport, and construction.
In contrast, funding for nature-based solutions is limited and largely dependent on public financing, with private-sector investment representing only a small fraction of total spending.
The report warned that despite growing awareness of biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, the business and financial sectors have yet to invest at scale in solutions that work with nature.
It stressed that investments in nature-based solutions must grow rapidly to meet global needs by 2030, even though the required level represents only a tiny share of global economic output.
To address this imbalance, UNEP introduced the Nature Transition X-Curve, a framework designed to help governments and businesses reform capital flows and accelerate investment in nature-positive solutions.
The framework outlines how harmful subsidies and destructive investments can be phased out while scaling up high-integrity nature-based solutions across key economic sectors. It also provides roadmaps toward a “trillion-dollar nature transition economy”, citing examples such as greener cities, nature-friendly transport, climate-positive building materials, and sustainable energy infrastructure.
The report emphasized that for nature-positive investments to succeed, they must consider local ecological, cultural, and social realities, while ensuring inclusive and equity. It warned that without a fundamental shift in how money flows, global efforts to halt environmental decline will remain out of reach.
UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said the findings highlight the scale of the challenge facing the planet:
“If you follow the money, you see the size of the challenge ahead. We can either invest in nature’s destruction or power its recovery—there is no middle ground. While financing nature-based solutions crawls forward, harmful investments and subsidies surge ahead,” Andersen said.
Germany’s Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, Reem Alabali-Radovan, stressed the importance of redirecting financial flows:
“The world’s financial flows need an urgent shift—from degrading the environment to investing in nature-based solutions. The private sector plays a key role. German development policy supports partner countries in valuing their natural capital so it can inform key policy decisions,” she said.
