Partnership between United Nations Environment and the global financial sector to promote sustainable finance
11 March 2021
The South African development bank for the agriculture sector is taking action on nature-related risks, as drought contributes to loan defaults in their portfolio. To ensure the long-term success of South Africa’s agriculture sector, Land Bank considers it vital to simultaneously support equitable ownership of land and tackle natural capital risks.
12 November 2020
Financial institutions in Colombia, Peru and South Africa are beginning to tackle nature-related risks, exemplifying a trend across emerging markets Risks linked to nature loss are rising up the finance sector agenda across emerging markets. According to a recent Swiss Re report, 40 percent of South Africa is now classified as having fragile ecosystems. Zero…
5 November 2020
The Dutch Central Bank and financial supervisor, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), is the first central bank to highlight biodiversity as a material financial risk In June, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) released a landmark study, ‘Indebted to nature’, which found that Dutch financial institutions alone have EUR 510 billion of exposure to biodiversity risks, like disruption…
15 October 2020
Eric Usher of the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative and Corli Pretorius of the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre say banks should urgently set targets for financing the protection of nature in the critical next decade in the same way that many have set climate targets
29 April 2019
Just days after the French and UK central banks issued an urgent warning that climate change constitutes an existential threat to the financial system, the Natural Capital Finance Alliance (NCFA) has launched analysis based on its ground-breaking ENCORE tool. The report analyses the FTSE All-Share Index to see how dependent UK-listed companies are on natural…
15 April 2019
The agricultural sector is one of the sectors most exposed to environmental risk caused by climate change and human degradation of ecosystems. A new template that enables financial institutions to conduct natural capital credit risk assessment across different agricultural sectors and geographies, taking into account factors such as water availability, use and quality; soil health;…
19 February 2019
When Madeleine Ronquest attended the Johannesburg launch of an innovative guide designed to help banks assess their exposure to environmental degradation, a quick look around the room proved it was no longer business as usual in the financial sector. “When I started out there weren’t any environmental or sustainability people in the banks, and (at the launch)…
16 January 2019
A week before the World Economic Forum in Davos, where global financial leaders will discuss society’s most pressing issues, the Natural Capital Finance Alliance (NCFA) has launched the world’s first step-by-step guide to help financial institutions conduct a rapid natural capital risk assessment. The Natural Capital Finance Alliance engaged with PwC to produce the guide.…
26 November 2018
The world’s first comprehensive tool linking environmental change with its consequences for the economy has been launched by the Natural Capital Finance Alliance (NCFA). The web-based tool, called ENCORE (Exploring Natural Capital Opportunities, Risks and Exposure), will help global banks, investors and insurance firms assess the risks that environmental degradation, such as the pollution of oceans…
23 April 2018
Launched today, in Hong Kong, ‘Connecting Finance and Natural Capital: A Supplement to the Natural Capital Protocol’ is a tool for financial institutions to assess how their business is impacted by, and depends upon the natural world. The Natural Capital Protocol has created a globally recognized and standardized framework for business. This supplement to the Protocol, aims…
23 April 2018
According to the capitals framework, there are five types of capital that enable our society and economy. Human and social capital enable productive and organized societies. Manufactured capital enables production processes, and financial capital allows for trade and ownership. Enabling all these other capitals is natural capital – the stock or flow of energy…
20 June 2017
On World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, Raj Singh of the Natural Capital Finance Alliance looks at how the global finance sector is dependent on water, and what the new drought stress testing tool can reveal about the exposure of banks’ portfolios to the effects of drought. As the planet heats up, rainfall is expected…
9 November 2016
The Natural Capital Finance Alliance is working alongside the Natural Capital Coalition (NCC) and the Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO) to create the first draft of the Finance Sector Supplement (FSS). The FSS will serve as an introduction to natural capital issues and provide a framework for measuring and integrating natural capital…
1 November 2016
New name for Natural Capital Declaration The Natural Capital Declaration (NCD), the leading global finance-led initiative convened by the Global Canopy Programme (GCP) and the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) announced at UNEP FI’s Global Roundtable in Dubai in October that its name is changing to the Natural Capital Finance Alliance (NCFA), with…