GCA Launches Pioneering Tool to Scale Investments in Nature-based Solutions
O
xford, United Kingdom, 28 February 2025 – The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), in collaboration with the University of Oxford and supported by UK International Development, unveiled a groundbreaking global-scale spatial and financial analytics tool at a consultation at the University of Oxford on ‘Scaling Investments in Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for Climate Resilient Infrastructure.’ The new tool Infrastructure Risk Assessment, designed to support investments in NbS, is now available online, offering real-time data, risk assessments, and investment-ready insights to drive adaptation action at scale. These analytics enable investors and governments to identify and prioritise investments in NbS where they can deliver a viable financial return and measurable social benefits.
Nature-based solutions, such as mangrove restoration, floodplain revegetation, and slope reforestation, are critical for enhancing the climate resilience of infrastructure systems. The tool aims to catalyze financing by bridging the gap between policymakers, financial institutions, and private investors, showcasing the value of integrating NbS into national and sub-national infrastructure planning.
The consultation, attended by Multilateral Development Banks, Development Finance Institutions, and investors, drew on insights from the report ‘Financing Nature-Based Solutions for Adaptation at Scale,’ developed by GCA and the University of Oxford. The report underscores the crucial role of specialized investment managers and nature funds in mobilizing private finance for NbS and outlines strategies to unlock the $400 billion in annual investments needed to achieve the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target.
Professor Patrick V. Verkooijen, President and CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation; Distinguished Chair of The Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies at the University of Nairobi, and the Ban Ki-moon Chair on Climate Adaptation Governance at the University of Groningen, highlighted the tool’s transformative impact: “With the launch of this tool, we are taking a quantum leap in our ability to finance and implement climate-resilient infrastructure. For the first time, decision-makers will have access to comprehensive analytics that ensure every dollar invested delivers maximum climate impact. This is adaptation action at scale—action that will safeguard communities, protect ecosystems, and strengthen economies against growing climate threats.”
The event at the University of Oxford featured a live demonstration of the tool’s functionalities, presenting practical case studies from Bangladesh and Tanzania. Participants explored how the tool can guide investment strategies and support ongoing initiatives to integrate NbS into global adaptation frameworks.
Professor Jim Hall, Programme Lead for the Oxford Programme for Sustainable Infrastructure Systems (OPSIS) at the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford, added:
“The benefits of Nature-based Solutions are well known. Deciding where to put them is much harder. Our new tool provides an indication of where Nature-based Solutions could have the most benefit in protecting infrastructure from the impacts of climate change”.
Dr. Nicola Ranger, Director, Resilient Planet Finance Lab, Environmental Change Institute, noted:
“I am hopeful the toolkit will empower governments and investors with the data-driven insights needed to attract capital for nature-based solutions. By integrating earth observation data, ecological insights, risk modelling, and financial analysis, it highlights investment returns and their wider social, nature and resilience returns for people, planet and prosperity. Evidence-based methods like these are essential for scaling nature finance, and I look forward to expanding these capabilities to encompass more sectors and asset classes”
By mobilizing investment and fostering collaboration, GCA is setting a new standard for how climate resilience is financed and implemented. The consultation marked the start of a series of financiers’ roundtables for NbS, aimed at fostering collaboration between policymakers, financial institutions, and private investors to unlock investments in NbS.
