New Fund drives private investment in nature to tackle climate change

On 14th July, the Government announced a pioneering new fund to drive private investment in nature and tackle climate change as the country builds back greener.

27 natural projects have been awarded funding from the pioneering Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund.

This includes projects to create new woodlands, deliver natural flood risk management, and improve water quality.

Environmental groups, businesses and local authorities have been awarded funding to develop projects that provide and enhance nature while also demonstrating innovative approaches to generating revenues from the wide range of benefits that nature provides. Funding will be used to develop the projects to the point they can provide a return on investment by capturing the value of carbon, water quality, biodiversity and other benefits provided by natural assets such as woodlands, peatlands, catchments and landscapes.

The Environment Minister said: “To tackle the environmental challenges we face from climate change and biodiversity loss, it is crucial that domestic natural environment projects are able to attract private investment alongside support from the public sector.

Unleashing innovation and growing new sources of finance, such as through the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund, are fundamental for delivering nature recovery and developing nature-based solutions to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.”

I welcome this new funding, which will further contribute to tackling climate change and generating revenue. I am confident this fund will help care for our environment, which is one of my key priorities I have set out for my constituents.

To find out more about my environment priorities, please visit: https://www.chloesmith.org.uk/myplan/environment