International Financial Reforms For An Equitable, Nature-positive Economy And The Sustainable Development Goals

This brief argues for reforming elements of the international financial architecture to foster a global nature-positive economy, advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and diminishing inequality within and across nations (SDG10). Much of global biodiversity is located in developing countries that lack the resources to protect and restore nature and are exposed disproportionately to nature- and climate-related risks. These countries face international barriers including a lack of private or concessional financing and a debt system that leaves them vulnerable to debt distress, limiting their fiscal space to prioritise nature. This brief provides a call to action for international financial reforms to give developing and nature-rich countries the ability to prioritise nature and achieve the SDGs. A nature-positive economy goes hand-in-hand with tackling poverty, ensuring food security, and other SDGs. Without nature’s ecosystem services, the world’s most marginalised are at risk ofjob losses, food insecurity, shrinking access to land, and other impacts. Nature also provides adaptation benefits, building resilience against climate change. A nature-positive economy is not just about investing directly in nature, but also about reforming the systemic conditions that determine investment flows – and thus investments in the SDGs. This brief focuses on how the G20 could facilitate the reform ofthe role of multilateral development banks (MDBs) to drive the nature-positive transition and scale innovative finance and debt solutions. MDBs are a critical source of long-term, affordable financing for developing countries, hence the need to strengthen their capacity to invest in a nature- positive economy. Debt solutions, meanwhile, are essential given many developing countries are facing an urgent and escalating debt crisis that severely restricts their fiscal space for investments in nature and negatively impacts progress towards the SDGs.