During London Climate Action Week in June 2026, NetworkNature and Invest4Nature gathered nature-based entrepreneurs, project developers and aggregators, and investors interested in nature, to discuss how to get more money moving for Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in Europe. The conditions on the day only served to emphasise the need to accelerate action in this space – it was an abnormally hot day at 37 degrees Celsius, with transport buckling and schools closing.
According to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework we know that there is a nature finance gap worldwide of approximately $700 billion per year, yet UNEP’s State of Finance for Nature report found that “In 2023, US$7.3 trillion flowed into nature-negative activities [...] Meanwhile, only US$220 billion supported NbS, with private finance contributing just US$23 billion.”
How to scale investment in NbS?
With that vital gap in mind, the event's opening panel tackled a deceptively simple question: with so many proof-of-concept models already out there, why isn't private investment into nature-based solutions (NbS) scaling faster? Our three panellists brought a spectrum of expertise.
Matt Robinson (Landscape Finance Lab) spoke about his work on financing peatlands, where he has found that these landscapes are already highly investable once revenue streams arising from payment for ecosystem services and other such offtake agreements for water and/or carbon benefits are in place. However, he warned that well-meaning grants from both corporates and policymakers can actually undermine nascent nature markets by crowding out genuine private investment. He urged corporates to sign offtake agreements for ecosystem services, instead of giving one-off Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) grants, and flagged water security as an increasingly compelling driver for corporate investment in solutions like peatland restoration.
Charlotte Penrose (WilderWay) focused on the structural challenge of reconciling landowners' long-term goals with corporates' shorter reporting cycles, sharing how tailored deal structures and offtake agreements can bridge that gap. She noted rising interest in nature from the finance and legal sectors, driven by adoption of the recommendations of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). She encouraged corporates to engage with nature projects early so they can help shape the outcomes they ultimately want to buy.
Finally, Moein Nodehi (Biotonomy) brought the Nature-based Enterprise (NbE) perspective, stressing that NbEs need to speak their corporate clients' language: selling innovation, cost savings and efficiency (like cooling or water recycling in green buildings) rather than leading with biodiversity benefits. His clearest warning was against over-reliance on grant funding — nature-based enterprises need to identify a viable business model and income stream early, and bring in corporate clients to help shape both the product and the sales pitch.
Addressing key blockers to mobilising more private investment for nature
Across all three speakers, a common thread emerged: money will move for nature when it's structured as a commercial proposition — with clear revenue streams and where corporate demand is shaped early. Grants should be used sparingly so as not to distort the market that NbS ventures are trying to build.
Breakout groups on three topics – the enabling environment (namely, public frameworks and incentives which can shape private markets), aggregation and scaling (the need to bring smaller NbS projects together to achieve the larger ticket sizes many investors are looking for), and return on investment – enabled attendees to discuss these topics in greater detail.
On the enabling environment, participants called for support from governments and development finance institutions that matches investment timescales, avoids policy churn, and is co-developed with investors and developers. Suggestions included prompt and effective implementation of the EU Restoration Law at national level which could support private investment, extending tax incentives from CSR to mainstream NbS investment, assigning board-level responsibility for nature, and levies on goods with negative externalities to fund restoration.
On aggregation and scaling, the group discussed using investments in pilot landscapes with robust monitoring to attract further investment. Further, since project sizes rarely match the ticket sizes (namely, the amount of finance) that many investors are looking to deploy, techniques such as farm clusters and other landscape level groupings need to be used to aggregate smaller projects.
On return on investment, examples of expectations discussed varied widely from 10% per year over 10 years for a land investment, to 10-fold increase on investment over 8 years for equity in a nature-based enterprise, reflecting that this is not a homogenous asset class. Investors in landscape-scale restoration (like peatlands) are often looking for steady, bond-like returns, while investors backing nature-based enterprises are underwriting business risk and expecting venture-like upside. Portfolio aggregation, offtake agreements, and mandatory frameworks from governments to drive demand were all seen as key to strengthening the investment case.
Investment opportunities already exist, but they must be enabled
Pitches from a range of Nature-based Entrepreneurs in the room underscored the exciting range of sustainable business models already being developed. These ranged from a technology to 3D print biodegradable artificial reefs from Reef Circular, to compact and chemical-free water processing facilities powered by daphnia (tiny water fleas) from Daphne Water Solutions, and the expertise to design and implement nature recovery and Biodiversity Net Gain schemes on heritage estates from Irish Trees.
The breadth and depth of opportunities on show just at one event highlighted that there is something for a wide range of investors and corporate available in the nature-based investing space now. There are many actors ready and waiting to enable these opportunities, such as project developers and aggregators like Restore and Rebalance Earth, who were in the room. What is needed now is a stable policy environment from governments to support and not undermine these opportunities, and even more discussion and connection building between those with the ideas, and those looking to invest.
Find out more:
- If you’re an investor looking to invest in nature-based enterprises, consider joining our Investor Hub here
- If you are a nature-based enterprise, join us on the Connecting Nature Enterprise Platform.
- If you are from a business interested in learning more about NbS, join the NbS Business Forum, which is a space for organisations, enterprises, and SMEs that are exploring the business potential of Nature-Based Solutions (NbS).
