Sea Forward Fund’s Post

Some insights from Cain Blythe, following his participation at the Innovation Zero Nature Finance Panel: 🥇 Cain showcased CreditNature's investment-ready projects, underlining our track record, alignment with standards, and independent accreditation for ecosystem recovery—a crucial step in mitigating greenwashing risks. 🐬 The benefits of marine restoration extend far beyond marine life, offering holistic advantages for communities as well. Perhaps it's time to consider investing in nature-positive biodiversity credits in our oceans? 🤝 Communities are central to sustainable scaling efforts. Their involvement is key in achieving lasting impact. 🐢 Staying grounded and aligned with local needs is essential in carbon projects and ecosystem restoration. Let's keep our focus sharp on these realities. 🎯 Above all: nature investment isn't just about the environment—it presents a significant opportunity for sustainable business growth. The time is now. #naturepositive #biodiversitycredits #naturecredits #naturebasedsolutions #esg #finance

Great day at the #ESGSummit2024 🌍 Particularly enjoyed the discussions around business and biodiversity, it was refreshing to have these topics at the forefront of the conversation, some key insights were: 🌱 Targeted ESG investors hold money for longer which allows for longer term projects. 🌱TNFD can act as a tool in halting biodiversity loss through understanding nature impacts and aid in building a business case. 🌱Integrating natures value into financial decision making is key in building an investment case. 🌱 The nature positive approach aims to redirect financial investments towards activities that restore nature. 🌱Biodiversity needs to be considered in the design process for projects not just as a mitigation approach. Nature and biodiversity are a core part of our ecosystem and economy and by investing in these areas we are putting both the environment and people first. #Biodiversity #TNFD #Sustainability

Adequately tackling climate challenges including net-zero emission transportation and cushioning the agriculture sector against climate adversities, will require INNOVATIVE + DISTRUPTIVE + COLLABORATIVE approach to realize sustainable solutions. INNOVATIVE (Technologies, Financing models, Insurance models, Research,,,) + DISRUPTIVE (Change of mindset and design in Policies & Incentives, Regulation, Trade Agreements, Standards, Protocols, Advocacy, Ecosystem development, Infrastructure,,,) + COLLABORATIVE (multi-stakeholder: Governments, Bilateral & Multilateral Organizations, Innovators, Manufacturers, Investors, Insurers, Assurers, Consumers, Programs, Communities,,,). “The pressing need for climate and nature action is increasingly felt across the world. In response, governments and companies have been multiplying commitments and actions in areas such as the net-zero transition, biodiversity loss prevention, and broader natural-capital preservation. These have in turn accelerated the momentum for public–private partnerships that combine the public sector’s ability to create enabling conditions with the private sector’s scaling ability” - https://lnkd.in/dtUSJ3k9 #SmartTechnologies #SmartClimate #StartegicPartnerships

🔥 Vlinder Wins “Bankable Nature Solution of the Year” Award at WWF Event in Amsterdam   On October 22, Robin Bartmann, CEO of Vlinder, took part in the 7th annual WWF Bankable Nature Solutions Investors' Workshop in Amsterdam where Vlinder was voted by investors as "Bankable Nature Solution - Project of the Year 2024".   The event focused on bankable nature-based solutions ready for investment and fostered discussions around investment opportunities and investor disclosures. Robin presented Vlinder's investment case and its reforestation efforts in Africa and Asia, highlighting our projects’ potential for co-development and support.   Commenting on the event, Robin emphasized its value for Vlinder: "It was an in-depth discussion of on-the-ground solutions with direct feedback from investors about what they seek. The one-on-one interactions during the workshop with investors were extremely helpful in understanding their needs and shaping our impact business case. The Project of the Year prize that Vlinder was awarded is a meaningful recognition of our progress in creating bankable mangrove reforestation carbon projects.”   Vlinder was invited to present at the WWF Bankable Nature Solutions Workshop as one of six initiatives supported by the Nature-based Solutions (NbS) Accelerator - part of the Climate Solutions Partnership, a philanthropic collaboration between WWF, World Resources Institute, and HSBC. This program is providing tailored support to several NbS projects to enhance their investment readiness potential and ultimately tackle the barriers to scaling up NbS. We are grateful to the Accelerator team for their ongoing support on our journey toward investment readiness and for the opportunity to showcase our projects to investors and receive valuable feedback. #NbS #CarbonMarkets #Mangroves #Reforestation #ClimateAction

EXCLUSIVE: M&G Investments is to rebrand its climate solutions fund as a nature and biodiversity fund at the end of October, in order to capitalise on growing interest in the theme and deliver a wider impact. Michael Rae and Ben Constable Maxwell told me that it will add three new verticals: sustainable food, agriculture and forestry as well as clean and accessible water. They join the existing clean energy, green tech and circular economy themes. This will require a realignment of around 48% of its portfolio. While there are "amazing businesses" in its existing fund, Rae said that "if you narrow your focus to [emissions], you're doing a bit of an injustice to the mechanism of impact investing". They also hope it will help the fund perform better, with greater diversification allowing it to weather the storm of more difficult economic conditions. Challenging times in the green technology space over the past few years - which have been well reported - mean the fund has previously underperformed its benchmark. Modelling of the new portfolio however, signal it could deliver a better performance than its previous iteration. Read more here on how its framework is based around the planetary boundaries guidance and the challenges of investing in certain themes:

“One thing is clear – the US$700b funding gap still exists today. While there is a growing interest in the space, the bigger question is: how quickly can #capital be deployed and what will we need for it to scale for greater impact?“ Ling Min Hoon, GenZero’s Investment Director shared her views on the lay of the land for #naturefinance to kick off the new season of The Straits Times’ Green Pulse – a podcast hosted by Audrey Tan and David Fogarty. Together, they discussed how some innovative financial instruments for nature have been around for decades. Did you know that the concept of a debt-for-nature swap dates back to the 1980s? The concept was initially socialised by WWF and the first debt-for-nature agreement was signed between Conservation International and Bolivia in 1987. Aside from providing the lowdown on the different instruments for nature financing - from carbon credits to rhino and coral reef bonds - Ling Min also discussed the criticality of placing a quantifiable value on something as complex and multifaceted as #nature. Here are some key takeaways from the podcast: 🌱 While interventions for nature need to be grounded in science, it is also key for financial institutions to have a seat in the room as they bring market mechanisms that can mobilise the capital needed to move the needle for nature conservation 💰 Concessionary capital is of paramount importance but projects cannot be solely reliant on donors and grants for longevity and permanence. Concessionary and private sector capital can go hand-in-hand as a powerful combination to crowd in capital for scale. 🌐 Harmonisation of #standards and #methodologies, along with enabling regulations and stability in regulatory frameworks, will go long way in channelling the flow of nature #finance. Thank you Audrey Tan and David Fogarty for having #GenZero for the first episode of your new season! 🎧 Listen to Green Pulse’s ‘Eco-nomics: Putting a value on nature is also key to saving it’ featuring Ling Min here: https://lnkd.in/g8r-vZse

There can be no 'Net Zero' without Nature... Time for businesses to wake up to safeguarding Nature & Biodiversity. Why? 1. Risks: Nature underpins our global economy with over half of the world’s GDP dependent on nature 2. Opportunities: Investing in nature could unlock $10tr (€9.2tr) of business opportunities annually and create ~400Mn jobs by 2030. Great call to action by Akanksha Khatri at World Economic Forum Leaders like Tony Goldner at Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) & Dean Muruven at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) are creating practical frameworks to help businesses take real action. https://lnkd.in/gHgsM-rd

🌎 Emerging Markets, Global Impact: Driving Sustainable Growth 🌎   🧩 Achieving global sustainability goals requires the participation of emerging market (EM) economies. EMs account for over 85% of the world population and around 75% of global carbon emissions (1) 🧩 EM economies have the potential to decouple economic growth from carbon emissions. In 2022, 75% of new power generation in EMs (excluding China) came from renewable energy (2) 🧩 Global investors can help close the investment and financing gap. By the 2030s, an estimated $2.2-2.8 trillion in annual clean energy investment will be required to align with the Paris Agreement, up from $770 billion in 2022. Green, social, and sustainable bonds have potential to be key sources of financing for this investment (3) 📖 Learn more in an article our fixed income (Prakriti Sofat) and equity teams worked on together:http://ms.spr.ly/6042mnIPK Sources: (1) International Monetary Fund. As of April 2024. Brookings. As of April 2023. For context, DM economies have far higher carbon emissions per capita relative to EM peers. (2) Bloomberg. As of December 2023. (3) International Energy Agency (IEA). As of April 2023.

Excellent analogy... but it eludes some economists understanding of environmental values.