Podcast – The first £billion is the hardest? Scotland’s challenge for natural capital
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As the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) was being held last week, a timely new report by the Green Finance Institute revealed that a minimum of £44 – £97 billion of investment is required to deliver the UK’s nature-related ambitions over the next 10 years. The investment is needed to secure key nature-related outcomes in the UK – such as biodiversity protection and restoration. The gap in Scotland is estimated to be between £15 and £27 billion.
COP15, and the imminent COP26 in Glasgow, both come at the start of a crucial decade of action for nature, and decisions made this year will impact upon future generations. It is vital that changes are included in important global agreements such as COP26, to lay the foundations for an equitable, nature-positive future with net-zero emissions. A low carbon, nature-rich future can revitalise our economy, and take advantage of the exceptional natural capital we have in Scotland and the rest of the UK.
By securing public and private investment in nature-based solutions via projects like Riverwoods, Landscape Enterprise Networks, and focusing on Vacant & Derelict Land, this podcast explores how Scotland can rebuild its natural capital so that future generations have a better world to live and work in.
Listen to the podcast here, or search for “Thriving Natural Capital” in your favourite podcast app.
You can also find out more about Scottish natural capital projects, and how they can be invested in by signing up to the Finance for Nature programme hosted by the Scottish Forum on Natural Capital and the Global Ethical Finance Initiative at COP26 This will be live-streamed online on 4th & 5th November, so that you can join in no matter where you are!
About:
Dr Hannah Rudman is a co-leader of both ​SRUC’s Thriving Natural Capital Challenge Centre and the Scottish Conservation Finance Pioneers network which is developing new natural capital investment projects that can deliver returns for investors.
Interviewees featured in the podcast are Andy Griffiths of Nestlé UK, Lucy Filby of SEPA, Deryck Irving of the Green Action Trust, and Rory Sandison and Bruce Wilson of the Scottish Wildlife Trust. The podcast was funded by NatureScot and produced by Hannah with the support of Scottish Funding Council, via SRUC UIF funding.