In the shadow of a planetary crisis defined by climate breakdown, mass nature loss, and persistent poverty, a new consensus is emerging—not only among scientists and environmentalists, but also within the financial and policy-making spheres. The recognition that climate and nature are interlinked with economic resilience is no longer theoretical; it is now a foundational truth shaping global financial architecture.
The World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Risks Report positions Extreme Weather Events, Biodiversity Loss and Ecosystem Collapse, and Critical Changes to Earth Systems as the top three threats to the global economy over the coming decade. These are not isolated risks; they are systemic and deeply embedded in our economic model. Similarly, the UNDP-OECD 2024 report, Investing in Climate for Growth and Development, illustrates that enhanced nationally determined contributions (NDCs) could sustain 60% growth in global GDP by 2040—underscoring a rare convergence between environmental imperatives and economic opportunity.
It is within this strategic pivot that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is spearheading a transformative agenda—integrating climate and nature finance within a broader framework for sustainable development. The recently launched Sevilla Platform for Action on Integrated Finance for Development, Climate and Nature marks a decisive step in codifying this approach.
A Nexus of Necessity: From Parallel Agendas to Integrated Strategy
Historically, climate finance and nature finance have evolved on largely parallel tracks—driven by separate multilateral agreements, frameworks, and financial mechanisms. Yet nature and climate are interdependent systems. Nature loss weakens carbon sinks and intensifies climate feedback loops; climate change, in turn, accelerates ecosystem collapse. Treating these issues in isolation not only fails to capture synergies but also results in fragmented and inefficient financial responses.
UNDP’s strategy of “nexus financing” aims to overcome this fragmentation by aligning financial flows across climate (Paris Agreement), nature (Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework), and land degradation neutrality targets. The ambition is supported by a $5 billion portfolio across 150 developing countries, uniting the Climate Promise and Nature Pledge initiatives.
The rationale is clear: over 55% of global GDP (equivalent to US$58 trillion) is moderately or highly dependent on nature (WEF, 2023). Meanwhile, achieving the combined nature-climate finance targets under international agreements would require at least $500 billion annually—a figure that far exceeds current flows.
Policy coherence must be matched with financial coherence. UNDP’s support for Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) in over 85 countries exemplifies this dual alignment. These frameworks channel finance toward NDCs, NBSAPs, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through green budgeting, private sector mobilization, and public finance reform.
For instance:
- Egypt’s INFF integrates NDCs with Vision 2030, prioritizing green investment, climate budget tagging, and private capital alignment.
- The Maldives is reforming fossil fuel subsidies while enhancing private sector sustainability reporting, with a gender lens in climate finance allocation.
Such examples show that integrated finance is not an abstraction—it is already shaping budgets, taxonomies, and investment decisions at national levels.
Beyond risk mitigation and environmental restoration, the integration of nature and climate finance offers one of the most cost-effective paths toward inclusive economic growth. According to UNDP, bold and aligned nature-climate policies could lift 175 million people from extreme poverty by 2050. This is not just a statistic—it represents one in three people currently living in the deepest forms of deprivation.
The economic logic extends to small-scale interventions with high impact:
- In Thailand, a sub-$1 visitor fee at Koh Tao generated over $300,000 for coral reef restoration and waste management—actions that directly bolster climate resilience.
- In Botswana, revised protected area fees generated $7 million annually, reinvested into community livelihoods and adaptive capacity.
- Ecuador’s green microfinance system has mobilized over $804 million, targeting women, youth, and rural SMEs in renewable energy and nature-based enterprises.
These cases illustrate that nature investments can yield high economic, social, and ecological returns, especially when they intersect with local empowerment and sustainability goals.
From Pledges to Portfolios: The Sevilla Platform and the Future of Finance
The Sevilla Platform for Action is a timely response to this moment of convergence. It positions integrated finance not only as a means of closing funding gaps, but as a way to reimagine the architecture of development finance. The platform aims to mobilize over $1 billion in public-private capital by 2027 through blended finance models, investment-readiness tools, and matchmaking platforms that link policy priorities to investable pipelines.
While the public sector remains foundational, the future of integrated finance must harness the scale and innovation of private capital. De-risking tools, green taxonomies, and nature-positive investment frameworks will be essential to unlocking this potential.
What is at stake is more than policy coherence or financial alignment—it is the chance to reshape the incentives that underpin our economic systems. Aligning finance with nature and climate goals is not just good environmental policy; it is smart economics. It enhances resilience, supports inclusive growth, and creates new markets for sustainable development.
In a world beset by multiple crises, the convergence of climate and nature finance offers rare clarity: the goals of environmental integrity, social equity, and economic prosperity are not in conflict. They are, increasingly, the same agenda.
Sources:
- Statement by Marcos Neto, UNDP, July 2025, FfD4 Side Event.
- World Economic Forum (2025). Global Risks Report.
- UNDP and OECD (2024). Investing in Climate for Growth and Development.
- UNDP INFF Knowledge Platform (2024-2025).
- CBD Secretariat, Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (2022).