A new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report has highlighted the stark imbalance in global spending, showing that far more money is going into destroying nature than saving it.
Titled The State of Finance for Nature 2026 and released on Thursday in Benin City, Edo State, the report revealed that for every dollar spent on safeguarding ecosystems, 30 dollars are directed toward activities that harm the environment.
The findings present a worrying snapshot of global financial flows, indicating that while nature-based solutions are gaining attention, they are still heavily outweighed by investments and subsidies driving ecological damage.
Drawing on 2023 data, the report noted that trillions of dollars continue to support nature-negative activities, with private investments concentrated in sectors such as energy, utilities, industrials, and basic materials.
It further pointed out that these flows are amplified by substantial public subsidies across fossil fuels, agriculture, transport, and construction, reinforcing the global trend of environmental degradation.
By contrast, the study noted that funding for nature-based solutions remained relatively small and heavily dependent on public sources, with private-sector investment accounting for only a fraction of total spending.
The UNEP document warned that in spite of growing awareness of the risks posed by biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, business and finance had yet to invest at scale in solutions that work with nature.
The report estimated that investments in nature-based solutions must grow rapidly to meet global needs by 2030, yet noted that the required level would represent just a tiny share of global economic output.
To address this imbalance, the UNEP report, however, introduced a new framework, the Nature Transition X-Curve, designed to help governments and businesses reform capital flows and accelerate investment in nature-positive solutions.
The framework outlines how harmful subsidies and destructive investments could be phased out while scaling up high-integrity nature-based solutions across key sectors of the economy.
The Nature Transition X-Curve also provided practical roadmaps toward what it described as a “trillion-dollar nature transition economy.”
It highlighted examples already being adopted globally, including greener cities to reduce heat, nature-friendly transport and energy infrastructure, and climate-positive building materials.
The report stressed that for nature-positive investments to succeed, they must be rooted in local ecological, cultural and social realities, while ensuring inclusivity and equity.
It warned that without a fundamental shift in how money flows, global efforts to halt environmental decline will remain out of reach.
UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said the findings highlighted the immense challenge facing the planet.
“If you follow the money, the magnitude of the challenge becomes clear,” she noted.
“And we have a choice: we can either continue investing in nature’s destruction or commit to its recovery—there is no middle ground. While funding for nature-based solutions moves at a slow pace, harmful investments and subsidies continue to surge,” Andersen added.
