Download the report: “Nature’s Return – Embedding environmental goals at the heart of economic and financial decision-making”:
- full report, 88 pages
- executive summary and recommendations, 6 pages
Without timely action, the relentless decline of Europe’s ecosystems will cause economic and other problems far worse than the COVID-19 slowdown. Finance Watch’s new report outlines actions the EU could take immediately to help reverse this decline, including by redirecting and mobilising public and private financing for nature.
Ludovic Suttor-Sorel, Research and Campaign Officer at Finance Watch and co-author of the report, said:
“Putting nature on a path to recovery needs an investment mindset that sees the value of natural outcomes just as clearly as the financial outcomes. Our report looks at how policymakers can better align public as well as private financing with nature in ways that recognise the limits and maximise the potential of each sector.”
Thierry Philipponnat, Head of Research and Advocacy at Finance Watch, said:
“The COVID experience has shown that our lifestyles are more fragile than we thought. As the EU prepares its largest ever economic stimulus, there is an historic opportunity to protect our natural commons and to solve our economic and environmental crises together. If we do not do this now, it may soon be too late.”
Benoît Lallemand, Secretary General of Finance Watch, said:
“We welcome the commitments by EU leaders to prioritise the Green Deal in the EU’s post-COVID recovery plan. As our report says, we hope they will go a step further and put environmental goals at the heart of the EU’s economic and financial governance systems. Now more than ever, recovery and transition must go hand-in-hand.”
ENDS
For further details or to request an interview, please contact Finance Watch’s Head of Communication and Networks, Charlotte Geiger, at charlotte.geiger@finance-watch.org or telephone 0032/474 331031.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
- The European Commission is preparing the EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy, expected for release in Q2 2020.
- A European Parliament Resolution of 15 April 2020 called for the EU’s recovery and reconstruction to have the European Green Deal at its core.
- A speech by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 16 April 2020 called for investment to rebuild the Single Market after corona by “doubling down on our growth strategy by investing in the European Green Deal” and “investing in large scale renovation, renewables, clean transport, sustainable food and nature restoration”.
- At the Petersberg Climate Dialogue on 28 April 2020, German chancellor Angela Merkel called for economic stimulus programmes to consider climate protection, while UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the economic restart was an opportunity to lead to a healthier and more resilient world.
