The  Natural Capital Financing Facility (NCFF) is funded by the EU LIFE program and managed by the European Investment Bank (EIB). The NCFF was designed to support—using EU guarantee-backed loans and investments—projects that deliver on adaptation to climate change and biodiversity.

Weighing costs and benefits of investments in natural capital such as green infrastructure, nature-based solutions, natural water retention measures or ecosystem-based approaches can be challenging. IISD and the MAVA foundation developed the Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) approach to evaluate risks and externalities of infrastructure projects, including nature-based infrastructure. Mapping the options for investing in conservation of Lake Dal in India using SAVi, for example, has shown the environmental and economic benefits of investing in the right mix of green and grey infrastructure. And in the SAVi-analysis of the Georgian Green Economy Strategy, investing in green solutions for construction, agriculture and tourism proves to be less costly than continuing business as usual.  

IISD welcomes the recently announced extension of the NCFF call for projects until 2021. To promote investment in natural capital, the EIB has published this lear and practical guide on financing basics, potential financial models and practical examples of nature conservation and nature-based adaptation projects.

More information on SAVi is available here.

For more information on the NCFF and the EIB guide, click here.