Nature Can Build Economic Resilience: But Only If We Build Confidence First
The Green Finance Institute's latest report highlights why nature-based solutions are vital for economic resilience, and why building confidence across finance, business, and government is essential to unlocking finance at scale.
Recognising nature as critical infrastructure
Nature is no longer simply an environmental asset, but rather it is increasingly becoming an essential part of the infrastructure that supports resilient businesses, communities, and economies.
From reducing flood risk and improving water security to strengthening supply chains and protecting local communities, nature-based solutions (NbS) are proving that their value goes far beyond simple conservation. Whilst this is something that has been long understood in the conservation and ecology world, it’s been considered fringe in the mainstream economy – until now where they are helping businesses adapt to climate change, manage operational risk, and build long-term resilience.
This growing recognition is at the heart of the Green Finance Institute's (GFI) latest report, which our CEO Will Butler contributed to as a co-author. It explores how nature developers and regeneration entities can start to unlock greater private investment in nature-based solutions by building stronger business demand, translate impact data for finance, and transfer residual risk for stakeholders. Drawing on insights from more than 80 organisations across finance, business, government, and the environmental sector, the report presents a practical roadmap for scaling investment where it’s needed most.
Its message is clear: nature can help build a more resilient economy; but only if we create the market confidence to invest.
From environmental value to economic value
As climate risks continue to intensify, business leaders are beginning to view nature through a different lens, or at least their exposure to its degradation is being encouraged to be understood.
Floodplains that protect infrastructure, wetlands that improve water quality, woodlands that reduce heat stress and support healthier landscapes, these are no longer simply environmental assets but rather they are delivering measurable economic value beyond their own boundaries.
As Rob Gardner, CEO of impact investment firm Rebalance Earth notes in the report's foreword:
“Nature is our first line of defence against climate change and biodiversity loss, while underpinning resilient economies and communities.”
Recognising nature as critical infrastructure for businesses and communities fundamentally changes the investment conversation from whether nature-based solutions create value to how we finance them at the scale required.
Confidence unlocks capital
One of the strongest messages to emerge from the GFI's report is that building the business case for nature isn't just about creating more projects; it's about creating the confidence to invest in them.
The report sets out practical priorities for accelerating investment:
strengthening the evidence for resilience outcomes
increasing business demand through policy and incentives
developing regional delivery models
testing new approaches through cross-sector regulatory sandboxes
transferring residual risk to the insurance industry
While each recommendation tackles a different challenge, they all point towards the same underlying need: confidence.
Businesses need confidence that nature-based solutions will deliver measurable outcomes, investors need confidence that risks are understood and appropriately managed and authorities need confidence that public and private funding can work together to achieve long-term resilience.
When those foundations are in place, investment becomes easier to justify whilst partnerships become stronger and projects become more attractive to fund. Ultimately private finance needs confidence to deploy both to enable supply and demand.
As our own CEO and Founder, Will Butler, writes:
Asset based capital markets move on the confidence that investors and buyers have in the information they are being presented with – and that risk is appropriately managed – and if we want nature markets to scale then they need to understand how to instil the same level of confidence.
The appetite to invest is growing, but confidence is what turns ambition into action.
“We need to leverage insurance to unlock payments for resilience outcomes in three ways: through risk management for NbS delivery; through better use of insurance data and insights on physical risks and their costs; and through recognising the resilience benefits delivered by NbS within insurance premiums, helping to strengthen the business case for buyers and incentivise demand.”
Insurance is part of the solution
As Will says, managing and transferring risk is fundamental to every mature financial market, and nature finance is no exception.
Insurance and its risk transfer mechanisms is often viewed as something that protects projects once they are underway – if it’s being considered at all. Increasingly, however, it has a much broader role to play that we are looking to facilitate and the report from the GFI goes into further detail on, both from a project basis and a systems basis.
By helping nature-focused organisations understand, transfer, and manage risk, specialist insurance solutions create greater certainty for everyone involved; from project developers and environmental consultants to investors, lenders, and corporate buyers.
It helps answer the questions that determine whether investment moves forward:
What happens if expected outcomes are not achieved?
How are project risks allocated?
Who is protected if something goes wrong?
How can stakeholders invest with greater confidence?
Nature insurance does not remove uncertainty, but it provides the framework to manage it. In doing so, it becomes an enabling mechanism for investment, as well as permanence, rather than simply a financial product.
Then at a system level engagement with insurance and the systems around the industry can help those operating and scaling markets start to enable confidence at an institutional level by enabling:
Data on value from risk reduction
Enablement of commercial engagement from risk exposure analysis
Risk data for site location enablement
Our upcoming report on Natural Flood Management (NFM) projects and the insurance industry will go into deeper detail on these and more barriers and solutions to funding available in the near future.
Collaboration will shape the future
One of the report's greatest strengths is its collaborative approach.
Bringing together organisations from across finance, insurance, environmental restoration and government - including fellow contributors and close partners such as Rebalance Earth, Finance Earth, Great Yellow, the FloodAction Coalition, Nattergal, Rebuilding Nature, The Wildlife Trusts and more. It demonstrates that building resilient regional economies cannot be achieved by any single sector alone.
Scaling nature-based solutions will require shared frameworks, better data, innovative financing models, and effective risk management. Success depends on collaboration between those designing and delivering projects, those funding them, and those helping to manage the risks along the way – and the wider networks that support them all.
The next chapter for nature finance
The GFI's report arrives at a crucial moment for the UK's nature finance market.
The opportunity is clear. Nature-based solutions can reduce risk, strengthen regional economies, and build resilience for businesses and communities alike.
The challenge now is creating the confidence that allows investment to move from ambition to implementation.
At GaiaSicura, we believe that confidence is the foundation of every successful market and by helping organisations understand and manage risk, insurance has an important role to play in unlocking the private capital needed to scale nature-based solutions and deliver lasting economic resilience. We were delighted that Will was able to assist the team at the GFI on this fantastic report and look forward to continuing pushing the insurance market into better understanding of the critical role they play in securing financial support necessary for securing a future for nature.
Discuss your project with our experts
If your organisation is involved in the development or delivery of a natural capital or nature restoration project, our team of experts can help you understand how Environmental Professional Indemnity insurance fits within your wider risk management strategy.