Last month, the Nature Investment Lab (NIL) brought together leaders from the financial sector, climate experts, government representatives, and civil society in São Paulo for the event “Nature-based Solutions: Scaling Opportunities and Funding Perspectives”.
The meeting gathered strategic voices from the financial sector, public and private institutions, civil society, and the technical community, with a common goal: to unlock pathways for Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to move beyond mere promises and be implemented with the scale and speed that the current moment demands. Focusing on the urgency and feasibility of climate finance, the meeting reinforced a fundamental consensus: without structured, accessible, and scalable financial resources, the environmental agenda and the response to the climate crisis will not advance.
The event was attended by Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, designated president of COP30, which will take place in Belém at the end of this year. Corrêa do Lago reinforced Brazil’s leadership role in building a new logic for climate finance. “Brazil is providing immense help in finding ways for other forms of financing. There are discussions about taxation for maritime transport, oil, airline business class. We will look at everything to reach US$ 1.3 trillion in 2035,” he stated, referring to the goal set during COP29. He also highlighted the creation of the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF), expected to become operational in 2025 with US$ 125 billion allocated to countries that conserve their tropical forests.
With only six months of operation, NIL is already showing concrete results. As Daniel Contrucci, co-founder and executive director of Climate Ventures, the organization responsible for the Lab’s secretariat, recalled, a public call mobilized about 90 NbS projects from different parts of the country. The volume and quality of the proposals reinforce the urgency, and the opportunity, to structure innovative, accessible, and replicable financial instruments to get these initiatives off the ground.
During the event’s panels, we delved into the main challenges and possible pathways to scale NbS financing in Brazil. The executive director of the Institute for Climate and Society (iCS), Maria Netto, highlighted that the country has over 100 million hectares of degraded areas with restoration potential. “Our role as iCS is to help NIL by bringing not only knowledge but also a pragmatic vision of what we can show as possible. The public and private sectors need to work together to show what is feasible,” she affirmed.
Another featured panel presented the Brazil Restoration & Bioeconomy Finance Coalition (BRB FC), an initiative created in 2024 to strengthen the financing of actions aimed at forest restoration and conservation in Brazil. Representatives from organizations such as BTG, Biomas, Itaú BBA, Agro, and Conservation International highlighted the need for legal certainty, integration among actors, and large-scale investments to enable the climate goals assumed by the country.
Throughout a full day of strategic dialogues, it became evident that Brazil has a unique role in the global transition to a low-carbon economy based on nature, and that financing is the bridge between potential and realization.
Access the event materials:
Recording: Original Audio, English Audio, Portuguese Audio
The Nature Investment Lab was born precisely to occupy this space: to catalyze concrete financing solutions, connecting different sectors and articulating efforts around a common vision. Our work is to identify obstacles, propose pathways, and support the structuring of financial instruments adapted to the reality of NbS in Brazil.
Financing nature is not just a necessity, it is a strategic opportunity for Brazil and for the planet. NIL continues as a space for articulation and collective construction, with the purpose of accelerating NbS financing and contributing practical solutions towards COP30.
Throughout the year, we will continue to hold meetings, deepen discussions in NIL’s Task Forces, and build, with different partners, a more robust ecosystem for climate finance.
📬 Want to closely follow the next steps? Subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates and invitations to NIL events and meetings. Also follow us here on LinkedIn and keep up with our actions.
