Policy paper

Annex – Biodiversity Finance Trends Dashboard 2024

Published 29 October 2024

The Biodiversity Finance Trends Dashboard gathers the most reliable publicly available data on finance for biodiversity. While some data is available from 2024, much of the data related to international financial flows is from 2022, the latest year for which data is available due to reporting timelines.

All data included in this Dashboard was sourced and compiled by Defra and The Nature Conservancy. If you have any questions or would like more information, email naturefinance@defra.gov.uk.

We would like to thank the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Development Programme - Biodiversity Finance Initiative (UNDP-BIOFIN) for their assistance in gathering data for this Dashboard.

Target 15 – Businesses assess, disclose and reduce biodiversity-related risks and negative impacts

Note that the frameworks mentioned here are not exhaustive and there may be some overlap in the number of companies adopting these.  

Based on where headquarters are located, the top five with most adopters include Japan, Taiwan, UK, Australia, and France. 

The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) will be announcing an updated list of adopters on 25th October 2024. TNFD data in this Dashboard is accurate as of 1st October 2024.

Sources

TNFD Adopters – TNFD. 

Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive - KPMG Netherlands.

Unlocking insights and changing mindsets: what it is like to pioneer science-based targets for nature – Science Based Targets Network.

Target 18 – Reduce harmful incentives by at least US$500 billion per year, and scale up positive incentives for biodiversity

Note that some of the countries mentioned in one dataset also appear in the other, resulting in a certain degree of overlap between the two different datasets (those undertaking/completed assessments on harmful incentives and those which have implemented biodiversity-positive incentives). A full breakdown of country information can be found below.

The 101 countries and territories which have implemented biodiversity-positive incentives are:

• Albania
• Argentina
• Armenia
• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Bolivia
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Botswana
• Brazil
• British Virgin Islands
• Brunei Darussalam
• Bulgaria
• Burkina Faso
• Cambodia
• Canada
• Chile
• China (People’s Republic of)
• Colombia
• Cook Islands
• Costa Rica
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Côte d’Ivoire
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Denmark
• Ecuador
• Equatorial Guinea
• Estonia
• Fiji
• Finland
• France
• Gabon
• Germany
• Greece
• Honduras
• Hungary
• Iceland
• India
• Indonesia
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Japan
• Kenya
• Korea
• Lao People’s Democratic Republic
• Latvia
• Lesotho
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Madagascar
• Malaysia
• Mali
• Malta
• Marshall Islands
• Mauritania
• Mauritius
• Mexico
• Mongolia
• Montenegro
• Morocco
• Mozambique
• Myanmar
• Namibia
• Nauru
• Nepal
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Nicaragua
• Niger
• North Macedonia
• Norway
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Philippines
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Russia
• Serbia
• Seychelles
• Singapore
• Slovak Republic
• Slovenia
• Solomon Islands
• South Africa
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Tanzania
• Thailand
• Tokelau
• Turkey
• Uganda
• Ukraine
• United Kingdom
• United States
• Vietnam

The OECD refers to ‘biodiversity-positive incentives’ as all economic incentive-based policy instruments that provide incentives to conserve/sustainably use biodiversity. These include biodiversity-relevant taxes and fees, tradable permits relevant to biodiversity, payments for ecosystem services, and so on.

UNDP-BIOFIN has reported that 21 countries have started assessments on harmful subsidies:

• Belize
• Costa Rica
• Cuba
• Ecuador
• Guatemala
• Mexico
• Peru
• Botswana
• Mozambique
• Rwanda
• South Africa
• Zambia
• Bhutan
• Georgia
• Kazakhstan
• Mongolia
• India
• Philippines
• Sri Lanka
• Thailand
• Vietnam

3 countries have completed the initial stage (Colombia, Kyrgyzstan and Nepal).

The 12 countries using BIOFIN’s step-by-step guide to repurpose subsidies harmful to biodiversity and improve their impacts on people and nature are:

• Botswana
• South Africa
• Zanzibar
• Georgia
• Kyrgyzstan
• Philippines
• Nepal
• Mongolia
• Sri Lanka
• Colombia
• Mexico
• Ecuador

The OECD identified 23 national-level assessments of potentially biodiversity-or environmentally-harmful subsidies, covering 12 countries and 2 regional institutions:

• the Nordic Council
• the European Union
• Austria
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Ireland
• Italy
• Lithuania
• the Netherlands
• Norway
• Sweden
• Switzerland

Considering both datasets from UNDP-BIOFIN (24 countries) and the OECD (12 countries and 2 regional institutions), the total number of countries and territories taking action to identify subsidies harmful to biodiversity is 36 countries and 2 regional institutions.

The 26 countries that have completed or are undertaking national-level assessments on harmful subsidies and have implemented biodiversity-positive incentives are:

• Austria
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Ireland
• Italy
• Lithuania
• Netherlands
• Sweden
• Botswana
• Colombia
• Costa Rica
• Ecuador
• India
• Mexico
• Mongolia
• Mozambique
• Nepal
• Norway
• Peru
• Philippines
• South Africa
• Switzerland
• Thailand
• Vietnam

Sources

Information was provided by the OECD (see below) and UNDP-BIOFIN. 

OECD 2024, Policy Instruments for the Environment (PINE) Database, July 2024 version. 

OECD 2022, Identifying and assessing subsidies and other incentives harmful to biodiversity: A comparative review of existing national-level assessments and insights for good practice, OECD Environment Working Papers, No. 206, OECD Publishing, Paris.

Target 19 – Mobilise US $200 billion per year for biodiversity from all sources, including US $30 billion through international finance

Target 19 – International bilateral financial flows

Note that this graph shows bilateral development finance or ‘Official Development Finance’ (ODF). 

ODF = Official Development Assistance (ODA) + Other Official Flows (OOF). 

Where ‘development financial flows’ is used in this dashboard, it refers to ODF. 

The data in the graph shows all bilateral contributions (not just Development Assistance Committee (DAC) countries). This also includes multi-bi flows, those which are earmarked flows that flow to multilateral institutions.  

Data draws on reporting to the OECD DAC Creditor Reporting System (including biodiversity Rio marker and SDGs 14 and 15 markers) and Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD) (for South-South and triangular co-operation providers). 

Rio markers track the contribution of development co-operation activities to global environmental goals, including biodiversity, by categorising and scoring their relevance to these objectives.

Rio markers have 3 categories:

• ‘Principal’ (the primary objective of the activity)
• ‘Significant’ (secondary objective of the activity)
• ‘Not targeted’ (does not target the objective in any significant way)

For example, a development activity can have outcomes for both biodiversity and climate mitigation, with the ‘principal’ objective being tagged as biodiversity and the ‘significant’ objective being tagged as climate mitigation.

In this graph:

• biodiversity-related spend refers to the so-called “full-range” calculation which counts 100% of the principal spend and 100% of the significant spend as contributing to a biodiversity outcome

• biodiversity-specific spend refers to the so-called “mid-range” calculation, which counts 100% of the principal spend and 40% of spend marked as significant as contributing to a biodiversity outcome.

• the OECD, to reflect the range of methodologies donors’ use when reporting to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), applies mid and full-range values across the donor’s portfolios. Both calculations are reflected here. As 40% is the most used coefficient by donors when reporting to the CBD, the OECD uses a 40% coefficient for the ‘significant’ marker in the mid-range calculation to reflect this

• more information can be found in the OECD’s Stock Take Report on Members’ Reporting Practices on Biodiversity-related Development Finance and Reporting against International Obligations (2024)

Currently, OECD and TOSSD databases are not yet complete on non-DAC and SSTrC (South-South and Triangular Co-operation). Therefore, there is a potential underestimation of the full landscape of financial flows from these sources. The OECD and International Forum on TOSSD (IFT) Secretariats are working to increase their coverage.

Source

OECD (2024), Biodiversity and Development Finance 2015-2022: Contributing to Target 19 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, OECD Publishing, Paris.

Target 19 – Multilateral financial flows

Rio markers track the contribution of development co-operation activities to global environmental goals, including biodiversity, by categorising and scoring their relevance to these objectives.

Rio markers have 3 categories:

• ‘Principal’ (the primary objective of the activity)
• ‘Significant’ (secondary objective of the activity)
• ‘Not targeted’ (does not target the objective in any significant way)

For example, a development activity can have outcomes for both biodiversity and climate mitigation, with the ‘principal’ objective being tagged as biodiversity and the ‘significant’ objective being tagged as climate mitigation.

In this graph:

• biodiversity-related spend refers to the so-called “full-range” calculation which counts 100% of the principal spend and 100% of the significant spend as contributing to a biodiversity outcome

• biodiversity-specific spend refers to the so-called “mid-range” calculation, which counts 100% of the principal spend and 40% of spend marked as significant as contributing to a biodiversity outcome

• the data in the graph represents multilateral biodiversity-related and biodiversity-specific finance. The OECD currently estimates finance generated by Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) based on what is reported using the OECD DAC Creditor Reporting System (CRS)

‘Multilateral financial flows’ refers to finance from MDBs and other multilateral institutions (for example, Global Environment Facility (GEF), Adaptation Fund, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and others).

Where ‘development financial flows’ is referred to throughout this dashboard, it refers to ODF. 

ODF = Official Development Assistance (ODA) + Other Official Flows (OOF). 

This data draws on reporting to the CRS (including biodiversity Rio marker and SDGs 14 and 15). 

MDBs are in the process of developing their own methodologies for tracking biodiversity finance based on the MDB Common Principles for tracking nature-positive finance.

The peak share recorded in 2022 is due to the high contributions from 3 MDBs (MDBs representing 65% of total biodiversity-related finance).

Source

OECD (2024), Biodiversity and Development Finance 2015-2022: Contributing to Target 19 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, OECD Publishing, Paris.

Target 19 – Private finance mobilised by public finance

This data refers to private sector finance for biodiversity that has been mobilised by development finance. It reflects finance mobilised by both bilateral DAC members and multilateral institutions. This data is not reported by the private sector itself.

Source

OECD (2024), Biodiversity and Development Finance 2015-2022: Contributing to Target 19 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, p43, OECD Publishing, Paris.

Target 19 – Private philanthropy

This data draws on reporting to the OECD DAC Creditor Reporting System (including financial flows allocated the biodiversity Rio marker and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 14 and 15 markers).

Philanthropy for biodiversity-related finance is highly concentrated. Only 10 foundations are responsible for 81% of this finance. 

Of these 10, four foundations were the most significant donors, accounting for 51% of biodiversity-related philanthropic giving between 2017-22. 

The OECD database is not yet complete, and there is a potential underestimation of the full landscape of financial flows, the OECD Secretariat is working to increase the coverage.

Source

OECD (2024), Biodiversity and Development Finance 2015-2022: Contributing to Target 19 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, OECD Publishing, Paris.

Target 19 – Domestic resource mobilisation

132 countries have now formally started work on National Biodiversity Finance Plans (NBFPs). 30 have begun under BIOFIN Phase I, 11 countries have begun under BIOFIN Phase II and 91 countries started in 2024 with GEF support.

97 countries have formally started developing NBFPs:

• Albania
• Algeria
• Angola
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Argentina
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Bahrain
• Bangladesh
• Barbados
• Benin
• Bolivia
• Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Cameroon
• Cape Verde
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Chile
• China
• Comoros
• Cook Islands
• Cote d’Ivoire
• Djibouti
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
• El Salvador
• Equatorial Guinea
• Eswatini
• Ethiopia
• Gabon
• Gambia
• Ghana
• Grenada
• Guinea
• Guinea Bissau
• Haiti
• Honduras
• Iraq
• Jamaica
• Jordan
• Kenya
• Kiribati
• Lao PDR
• Lesotho
• Liberia
• Libya
• Maldives
• Mali
• Marshall Islands
• Mauritania
• Mauritius
• Micronesia
• Moldova
• Montenegro
• Morocco
• Namibia
• Nauru
• Nigeria
• Niue
• North Macedonia
• Palau
• Panama
• Papua New Guinea
• Paraguay
• Republic Of Congo
• Saint Kitts & Nevis
• Samoa
• Sao Tome and Principe
• Senegal
• Serbia
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leone
• Solomon Islands
• Somalia
• South Sudan
• St. Lucia
• Pakistan
• Tuvalu
• Sudan
• Suriname
• Tajikistan
• Timor Leste
• Togo
• Tonga
• Trinidad & Tobago
• Tunisia
• Türkiye
• Turkmenistan
• Uruguay
• Uzbekistan
• Vanuatu
• Venezuela
• Yemen
• Zimbabwe

35 countries have completed NBFPs:

• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Philippines
• Sri Lanka
• Thailand
• Vietnam
• Belize
• Brazil
• Colombia
• Costa Rica
• Cuba
• Ecuador
• Guatemala
• Mexico
• Peru
• Botswana
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Mozambique
• Niger
• Rwanda
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Uganda
• Zambia
• Egypt
• Bhutan
• Georgia
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Mongolia
• Nepal
• Cambodia
• Fiji
• India

The list of 23 Parties that have updated their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) ahead of CBD COP16 is not exhaustive, although is accurate as of 1 October 2024. We anticipate this list will change closer to CBD COP16. The list of Parties as of 1 October 2024 are:

• Malta
• Indonesia
• Slovenia
• Mexico
• Republic of Korea
• Burkina Faso
• Jordan
• Cuba
• Malaysia
• Afghanistan
• Suriname
• Italy
• Canada
• Uganda
• Austria
• Ireland
• China
• European Union
• France
• Hungary
• Japan
• Luxembourg
• Spain

Sources

Countries that have submitted NBSAPs - Revised and updated NBSAPs due by COP16 (cbd.int).

Countries that have begun developing NBFPs - information provided by UNDP-BIOFIN.

Target 19 – Synergies with climate finance

Canada will double climate finance contributions to CA $5.3 billion over 2021-26. CA $1.6 billion will be directed towards nature-based climate solutions and projects with biodiversity co-benefits. 

France will provide €6 billion of ICF between 2021-25; €1 billion of this budget will be dedicated to biodiversity. 

Germany will increase its contribution to international biodiversity financing to 1.5 billion euros per year by 2025, as part of Germany’s commitment to an international climate finance budget of 6 billion euros annually by 2025 at the latest. 

42 percent of Norwegian public funding earmarked as climate-related finance was nature-related in 2022. 

At the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP26 the United Kingdom committed to a portion of its international climate finance to nature.

Sources

This data is based on pledges made directly by individual governments. Further information can be found below.

Canada – Government of Canada. (2022). Canada’s approach to international climate finance. [Online]. Government of Canada. Last Updated: 2022. Available at Canada’s approach to international climate finance - Canada.ca.

France – European Commission (2022). COP15: Commission, Member States and other donors commit to increase global biodiversity finance. Available at: Donor countries commit to increase biodiversity finance (europa.eu).

Germany – Government of Germany (2022). Erhalt der Biodiversität Mehr Geld für globalen Naturschutz. Presse- und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung. Available at rhalt der Biodiversität Mehr Geld für globalen Naturschutz 

Norway – data provided by The Government of Norway. 

UK – UN Climate Change Conference UK 2021. (2021). COP26 Presidency Compilation of 2021-2025 Climate Finance Commitments. The National Archives. Available at: OP26 Presidency Compilation of 2021-2025 Climate Finance Commitments.

Target 19 – Access to funds

Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Spain pledged funds to the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) Fund in 2023, with Luxembourg and New Zealand also pledging in 2024.

The Finance Resources for Biodiversity (FIRE) database helps to close the financing gap for biodiversity conservation by listing over 350 funding opportunities around the world. The resources are both public and private. They include options with a conservation objective, and those with other objectives which also can be used to finance biodiversity. FIRE functions as a one-stop-shop, where a project owner can find in one place a multitude of different opportunities matching specific criteria.

The NBSAP Accelerator Partnership announced the first cohort of 12 countries and regions that will receive technical funding for a duration of 3 years:

• Colombia
• Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
• Ecuador
• Georgia
• Kazakhstan
• Kenya
• Mozambique
• Panama
• Philippines
• Sierra Leone
• Sri Lanka
• Vanuatu
• Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)

Sources

New biodiversity fund approves project preparation grants - GEF (thegef.org).

Global Biodiversity Framework Fund - GEF (thegef.org).

Finance Resource Database - BIOFIN - Homepage.

Accelerating implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework – Supporting countries’ early actions - NBSAP Accelerator Partnership.