WWF say nature-based climate solutions held back by funding barriers

A new report from WWF shows that finds that the primary barriers to scaling nature-based solutions for climate change adaption (NbS-A) are not ecological or technical but institutional, financial and governance-related.

the organisation has previously found nature could deliver up to 30% of the climate mitigation needed by 2050. Now, they are asking why NbS-A isn’t being invested in.

Within the report, they identified that one of the persistent barriers to NbS-A is the limited availability of evidence demonstrating their effectiveness and value.

They noted that although the evidence base for NbS-A is growing, many decision-makers continue to perceive nature-based approaches as less reliable, less measurable or higher risk than conventional infrastructure solutions.

WWF also warned that natural options are often treated as either mitigation or adaptation interventions, which can unnecessarily limit access to financing opportunities – whereas in reality, many nature-based interventions deliver both adaptation and mitigation benefits.

To combat the barriers, WWF recommend that primarily, governments should strengthen political and regulatory support by embedding NbS-A across adaptation, development, biodiversity and disaster risk reduction policies.