Our greatest ally in solving climate change and biodiversity loss is Earth itself. Nature can provide solutions – but it needs a helping hand.

This past Earth Day marked the start of a Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a UN-led initiative that will officially launch on World Environment Day. The UN Decade is a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems all around the world – and adds more weight to the shoulders of private sector leaders, who are increasingly expected to be good stewards of nature conservation.

Investors and businesses have taken note. Ahead of Earth Day, Apple launched a US$200 million Restore Fund to accelerate natural solutions to climate change. Three American banks – JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Bank of America – pledged a collective US$4.5 trillion in environmental financing by 2030.

These commitments were a crucial addition to the Earth Day climate action summit held by U.S President Joe Biden, where he pledged to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by up to 52% by 2030, a doubling of the previous target. Conservation is also high on the agenda of the Biden administration, which is expected to release its strategy for the recent executive order to conserve at least 30% of the nation’s lands and oceans by 2030.

Investors need not wait for government regulation in order to invest in the protection and enhancement of nature. Today, there is a growing number of innovative finance models that yield environmental and social impacts – and financial returns. The latest commitments from some of the titans of finance reinforce that what is good for business can also be good for the planet.

Read on to find out more updates in the CPIC News Pulse for April 2021.