Financial Rewards for Improved Biodiversity Outcomes (FRIBO)

It is estimated that environmental mitigation costs are in the region of $1 trillion per year of which ~$120 billion is provided largely by government and charitable foundations. Private investment is relatively small, providing a large untapped funding source that needs to be mobilised to help cover the massive shortfall. There are many impediments to private sector investment, including lack of appropriate and marketable financial instruments that can provide a satisfactory level of assurance regarding the outcome of environmental projects. The problem is exacerbated, in terms of biodiversity, due to the lack of financial value attributed to biodiversity and biodiversity assets. Current financial instruments that support the environment comprise mainly of green bonds. While the green bond market is expanding, these assets are not environmental performance related instead representing a commitment to simply fund more "straight forward" sustainable projects such as tree planting and renewable energy. As a result they have been linked to "green washing". FRIBO will identify with stakeholder partners (from the finance, land-use, wildlife, ecosystem service civil society and policy sectors) the opportunities and impediments to developing more fit-for-purpose performance related financial instruments that would be attractive to private investors while incentivising the delivery of real nature-based solutions (NBSs), with a focus on improved and measurable biodiversity outcomes. Examples of candidate instruments are Environmental Impact Bonds (EIBs); they link financial return to the success of the intervention by repaying the initial loan and interest using the financially valuable and marketable benefits of the project, such as carbon offsets, or cost reducing outcomes such as reduced flood damage, to pay off the full project costs. They are termed as "pay for performance" instruments. Sustainability Linked Bonds (SLBs) work in a similar way, but depend on meeting broader pre-defined sustainability goals such as reduction in GHG emissions to avoid penalty payments. FRIBO will analyse the linkages and drivers within the Finance-Biodiversity Nexus to assess opportunities and impediments to progress. Extensive stakeholder interaction, face to face, virtual and via surveys and questionnaires, will be conducted to identify key areas of research needed and critique optimum strategies for developing and incentivising the instruments. Challenges that will need to be taken into account are: how to measure and financially value biodiversity and biodiversity outcomes and NBSs in a market context (FRIBO will exploit links with existing NERC projects in this area), defining an improved biodiversity outcome; developing suitable biodiversity metrics; the role and function of Environmental Impact Assessments, the role and function of biodiversity in NBSs; the evaluation and quantification of wider societal benefits; identifying how to obtain additional payments for the wider biodiversity benefits that are realised in NBSs; the immaturity of EIBs and NBSs requires that their marketability within the financial sector requires study. Finally, there may be unintended consequences such as divesting/offshoring of environmental damage, non-equivalence of some "offsets" such as the carbon and biodiversity value of new tree plantations to offset deforestation of old growth forests;. Comprising a core group of researchers from Queen's University Belfast and Newcastle University, with a range of national and international partners, FRIBO will produce a Strategic Research Agenda that will identify the research required to address these challenges and accelerate investment in biodiversity related NBSs. In addition, FRIBO will produce an Implementation Roadmap that will outline key activities and timelines that need to be undertaken in order for stakeholders to implement Biodiversity focused "Rewards for performance" investment schemes.