NbS are investable today, and will become a key component of any climate-related portfolio in the near future.
According to PwC’s 2023 update of the landmark 2020 WEF analysis, 55% of the world’s GDP — an estimated $58 trillion — is moderately or highly dependent on nature, up from the $44 trillion first identified in 2020. The WEF’s Global Risks Report 2024 ranks biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse among the top three threats of the coming decade, warning it could shave $2.7 trillion off global GDP annually by 2030. Conversely, the costs of inaction are already measurable: the between $235 billion and $577 billion in annual crop output that depends directly on animal pollination is now under threat, while the degradation of coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs jeopardises marine fisheries that underpin food security and livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
More than half of the market value of companies listed on 19 major stock exchanges is exposed to financial risk through high or moderate dependence on nature. (Click on diagram to enlarge it.)
Source: EXIOBASE, ENCORE database, S&P Capital iQ, PwC analysis
Enhancing or restoring biodiversity through NbS are cost-effective. According to The State of Carbon Dioxide Removal 2024 report, Nature-based solutions (NbS), like forest management and reforestation, are the most cost-effective Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technology at $12–$16 per ton of CO₂ in 2023, but are constrained by land availability and risks like deforestation and wildfires. Mid-range options like biochar cost about ten times more ($130 per ton in 2023). Biochar is a mature technology that enhances soil health, but is limited by feedstock and the need for standardized methods. High-tech options, such as direct air and ocean carbon capture, are much more expensive, at $700–$1,400 per ton (2023 prices).
Even infrastructure projects can reduce costs by employing nature. For instance, A World Bank review of 53 nature-based defence projects found that mangroves can be two to six times less expensive than comparable gray infrastructure like breakwaters, while a 2025 University of Miami study found that the benefit-cost ratio of green coastal infrastructure such as mangroves and dunes is more than double that of seawalls. In the Gulf of Mexico, according to NOAA, wetland and reef restoration yields benefit-to-cost ratios greater than seven to one in flood-reduction benefits. These savings come before accounting for the collateral benefits NbS deliver: reduced storm and erosion damage, carbon sequestration, improved water quality, support for fisheries, and increased biodiversity — co-benefits that no gray infrastructure project can match. As BCG noted in April 2025, some businesses have already achieved returns on NbS investments more than double those of conventional built solutions.
The Inevitable Policy Response. As highlighted in the Inevitable Policy Response (IPR) — which now forecasts that half of global emission reductions by 2035 will come from the land-use sector — without investment in NbS, achieving net zero will be impossible. Natural climate solutions could deliver up to one third of the emissions reductions needed to hold warming to 1.5°C a figure IPR's own modelling reinforces: it projects land area dedicated to NbS will increase almost tenfold between 2021 and 2035.
Policymakers are responding. Across 190 countries, 1,546 nature-related policies are now on the books — and nearly 80% of the latest Nationally Determined Contributions mention nature, a 15% increase on the previous cycle. Yet only ~10% of current NbS investment comes from private finance. Governments are actively working to close this gap: COP30's NbS Mobilization Campaign has targeted at least $10 billion in new private commitments, while the wider Baku-to-Belém Roadmap calls for $1.3 trillion per year in total climate finance, with nature at the core.
Another indicator of the policy response is the adoption of TNFD by 730 organizations representing $22 trillion in AUM. (The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures is a global, market-led initiative providing a framework for organizations to report and act on evolving nature-related risks, dependencies, impacts, and opportunities while encouraging nature-positive financial flows.)
Only by decarbonizing the food economy, and using nature-based sources and sinks, can net zero be achieved. (Source: The Exponential Roadmap Initiative)
NbS investment brings reputational benefits and the experience can inform and de-risk climate solution investment in other domains. NbS are inextricably linked to social justice and biodiversity. To be effective these solutions must engage diverse populations who in turn care for their biome.
That human–nature connection runs deep. Roughly 500 million smallholder farms, each under two hectares, account for 85% of all farms worldwide and supply an estimated 30–34% of the global food supply (Ricciardi et al., Global Food Security, 2018; cited in FAO 2024 and NCBI 2023). A January 2026 study in Nature Food goes further, showing that when trade flows are factored in, small-scale farms underpin about a third of the food consumed even in high-income nations — making their stewardship of natural ecosystems a matter of global food security, not just local livelihoods.
Image courtesy of Project Drawdown
Successful NbS projects deliver climate mitigation, safeguard biological diversity, ensure healthier diets for all, improve food security and create more inclusive and resilient rural economies. Investing in GHG reduction will no longer be enough on its own: company and projects’ “right to operate” will increasingly be based on their ability to account for the outcomes they produce holistically.
For investors, NbS investments model how sustainable climate solutions in all domains can and must take into account these factors. This learning will help investors avoid climate investments that create negative externalities and invest in those that provide synergistic benefits.
In the final analysis, we believe that investing in NbS will determine the winning franchises of the future and be the key to long term and sustainable wealth creation.