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TWN
Info Service on UN Sustainable Development (Aug21/13) Unheeded risks in the turn towards blended biodiversity finance Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) are currently negotiating a post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) that is meant to set out how governments implement their general obligations under this legally binding treaty through specific goals and targets for the next decade. The First Draft of the GBF, released in July 2021, comprises four goals and 21 targets. Among these are those relating to resource mobilisation for the effective implementation of the GBF. In the current Target 19, nestled among the many ideas on how to increase financial resources for biodiversity, is the phrase “leveraging private finance”. The inclusion of this phrase is based on the claim that the public sector cannot provide all the finance needed, therefore there is a need to increase private sector financing. “Leveraging private finance” is essentially about blended finance – the use of public, philanthropic or supranational funding to “leverage”, “unlock” or “catalyse” private investments, often through direct grants, tax relief or debt-based instruments like loan guarantees. The fundamental question is, to what extent should public funds be used to essentially de-risk private capital investment? We are pleased to share a new TWN briefing paper, Unheeded risks in the turn towards blended biodiversity finance, that unpacks the notion of blended finance for biodiversity, drawing out some key concerns with the approach and its inappropriateness for financing biodiversity. The evidence surrounding blended finance suggests that it is a false solution to ongoing conditions of debt and austerity in developing countries. With best
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