For every dollar the world invests in protecting nature, it spends thirty destroying it. This is not a slogan, nor activist hyperbole, but the central finding of the United Nations Environment Programme’s latest State of Finance for Nature 2026 report. The numbers it presents expose a global economic order that is not merely indifferent to environmental collapse, but structurally committed to accelerating it. In 2023 alone, finance flows directly harmful to nature reached an astonishing $7.3 trillion. Of this, $4.9 trillion came from private sources, heavily concentrated in sectors such as utilities, industrials, energy and basic materials, the very engines of modern economic growth. Public policy has hardly acted as a corrective. Environmentally harmful subsidies, mainly for fossil fuels, agriculture, water, transport and construction, amounted to a further $2.4 trillion. Together, they form a system where both market forces and state support converge on nature-negative outcomes.
Against this tidal wave of destructive finance, the world’s investment in nature-based solutions appears almost symbolic. Total flows for such solutions stood at just $220 billion in 2023, nearly 90 per cent of it coming from public sources. This imbalance is really about priorities: while governments carry most of the burden of repairing ecosystems, private finance overwhelmingly fuels their degradation. This distortion is particularly alarming when set against the report’s reminder that nearly half of the global economy significantly depends on nature. And yet governments, businesses and financial institutions continue to erode the world’s collective natural capital, undermining the very basis of future growth and human well-being.
The UNEP’s call is not for incremental change, but for a major shift in global financing. Investments must move decisively towards nature-based solutions and harmful finance must be phased out and repurposed. It is thought that redirecting capital towards protecting and restoring nature promises high returns, reduced risk exposure and enhanced resilience in an increasingly unstable world. Another fact: to meet global commitments under the Rio Conventions, investment in nature-based solutions must rise to $571 billion by 2030, more than two and a half times current levels. At the same time, the $7.3 trillion funnelled into nature-negative activities needs to be fundamentally reoriented. The report notes that finance for nature-based solutions is growing, but growth from such a low base is cold comfort. As long as trillions continue to flow towards activities that degrade land, water, climate and biodiversity, modest increases in green finance will amount to little more than damage control.
