Uncertainty around what is meant by “nature-positive finance” is stalling banks’ efforts to work on solutions that could halt or reverse nature loss, according to lenders and international organisations.
Banks say the lack of clarity and consensus exposes them to greenwashing risks, and is preventing them from being more ambitious in this area. “What we’re trying to achieve is nature-positive economies, but we’ve only got till 2030 to get this right and we’re still battling with standardised market definitions,” says Oliver Withers, head of nature at Standard Chartered. “You then get into the world of greenwashing. I’d be nervous about [saying anything] is nature-positive because we just don’t know what the definition is yet.
