NAIROBI, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Investments should grow 2.5 times to reach 571 billion U.S. dollars annually by 2030 to protect natural habitats from mounting threats, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) said in a report released here on Thursday.
The 2026 edition of UNEP's State of Finance for Nature report highlights the urgency of scaling up nature-positive investments to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, habitat loss, and pollution.
The report noted that for every dollar the world invests in protecting nature, an additional 30 dollars is being spent on practices harmful to ecosystem health.
According to the report, while 7.3 trillion dollars was channeled towards nature-harmful practices by governments and corporations, only 220 billion dollars was spent on nature-positive interventions.
Inger Andersen, executive director of UNEP, said the report is a wake-up call for humanity to prioritize investments in nature recovery and transition to a more resilient future.
"We can either invest into nature's destruction or power its recovery -- there is no middle ground," Andersen said, calling for a retooling of global financial systems to ensure they are nature-positive.
A shift to nature-positive investment and growth is possible once governments and industry prioritize regulatory and fiscal reforms to help green critical sectors like manufacturing, infrastructure, agriculture, construction, tourism, and forestry, the report said.
The report stressed that these nature-positive investments should be grounded in local ecological, cultural, and social contexts, while paying attention to equity and inclusiveness.
In recent times, investors have expressed interest in gaining a better understanding of their dependence, risks, impacts, and opportunities related to nature, said the report, adding that over 730 adopters of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure represent assets worth 22.4 trillion dollars. ■