Recovery blueprint highlights opportunity to capitalise on renewable assets to bolster agriculture and food demand.
Nature restoration is essential to addressing biodiversity and climate-related risks to finance, ecosystems and human health, research by investment manager Foresight has highlighted.
Released last week, the Nature Recovery Blueprint offers practical guidance to land managers, developers and asset managers in implementing nature-positive management practices across renewable energy sites, and recommends actions encouraging the generation of renewable electricity.
“Within a renewables portfolio, the operational risks due to biodiversity and nature loss are limited,” Henry Morgan, Sustainable Investment Lead at Foresight Group, told ESG Investor. “However, the risks associated with biodiversity and nature loss at a national and international level are far more significant.”
Declines in natural habitats and biodiversity directly correlate with increased levels of pollution, Morgan explained. For instance, the proliferation of pests affect food production and reduced water quality.
“All of these have major impacts on human wellbeing,” he added.
Significant loss risks
The World Economic Forum previously warned that over half of the world’s GDP was exposed to moderate or severe risk linked to nature depletion.
Biodiversity loss, in particular, poses a significant threat, and is considered as the biggest driver of infectious disease outbreaks. According to UK NGO the BRE National Solar Centre, 60% of the world’s 3,146 monitored have declined over the past 50 years. A fifth of nature’s ecosystems is also said to be on the verge of collapse.
“Everyone has their part to play in delivering nature positive outcomes,” said Morgan. “As asset owners, institutional investors are in a position of significant influence to enable this.”
Last month, a group of international researchers who spent 10 years examining various measures said that nature conservation actions had proved effective at reducing global biodiversity loss, offering a “ray of light” for those working to protect threatened animals and plants.
But further funding is needed to ramp up these efforts. It has been projected US$8.1 trillion in investment will be required to effectively address interlinked climate, biodiversity, and land degradation crises between now and 2050.
“Through informed engagement, and equipped with practical guides such as the Nature Recovery Blueprint, institutional investors and their stakeholder base are in a unique position to drive meaningful change,” Foresight said in a statement. “Investing in nature not only benefits the environment but brings advantages to both local and global economies. It enhances resilience to future challenges and contributes to climate change mitigation.”
Although Foresight’s blueprint focuses on solar sites, it is applicable to other asset types – including wind, forestry, and pumped-storage