Natural Capital Investment EMEA 2024

Chair’s welcoming remarks

Genevieve Redgrave, Reporter, Environmental Finance

Keynote address: The direction of travel for nature-positive policies in the UK

Speaker:
The Rt Hon Lord Benyon, Minister of State for Climate, Environment and Energy, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Keynote panel: Structuring nature-positive transactions that deliver

• Are investors ready to deliver on the commitments from the Global Biodiversity Framework?
• What does a nature positive fund look like?
• What should it consider and how is impact measured?
• How are opportunities identified and risks quantified?
• Developing biodiversity investment frameworks: How do you build biodiversity into outcomes?
• Why are biodiversity funds are not yet seeing mass market interest from large institutional investors?
• Overcoming challenges in data: Footprinting, disclosures, modelled/proxy data – how do you navigate different types of data?

Moderator:
Peter Cripps, Editor, Environmental Finance

Panellists:
Danielle Brassel, Director - Responsible Investment, Zurich Insurance Group
Jacqueline Jackson, Chief Sustainability Officer, London CIV
Sylvain Vanston, Head of Climate and Biodiversity Investment Research, MSCI
Nick Moss, Head of Nature Based Solutions, Nuveen Natural Capital

TNFD: Driving momentum for the next phase

• How is the Taskforce pivoting its focus to support adoption of the recommendations?
• Use cases: who has disclosed thus far and what has been their experience?
• How are nature-related corporate reporting activities evolving as a result? Are corporates and investors behaving different because of TNFD? What action has it led to?
• How as sector specific guidance been received?
• How are the ISSB and GRI and corporate reporting intermediaries incorporating the TNFD recommendations into their current and future standards and reporting platforms on nature-related issues? How will it fit with CSRD?
• Will nature-related reporting become mandatory?

Moderator:
Thomas Moran, VP and Head of Biodiversity Products, GIST Impact

Panellists:
Abyd Karmali, Managing Director, Environmental Business Advisory, Bank of America, Taskforce Member, TNFD
Matthieu Maurin, CEO and Co-Founder, Iceberg Data Lab
Sue Armstrong-Brown, Global Director for Thought Leadership, CDP
Tomas Zaborowski, Global Head of Sustainability Excellence, Bayer

Biodiversity credits – integrity at the forefront

• What is the potential for this embryonic market, and what obstacles does it face?
• What standards are being developed and what is the methodology behind them?
• What will the supply of credits be like?
• What are the opportunities for investors and corporates in this space? Should there be secondary trading?
• What lessons can be learned from carbon markets?
• How can indigenous people and local communities be a part of the conversation and the preservation of biodiversity?
• How do the UK's Nature Market Principles aim to encourage private investment in nature recovery?

Moderator:
Jessica Smith, Nature Lead, UNEP FI

Panellists:
Ashley Camhi, Director of Innovative Finance, Wildlife Conservation Society
Dianah Nalwanga-Wabwire, Head of Biodiversity Programme, ECOTRUST
Sinclair Vincent, Director of Sustainable Development Innovation, Verra
Toral Shah, Biodiversity Coordinator, Plan Vivo Foundation

Fireside chat: Nature Action 100 and the power of nature-based engagement initiatives

Moderator:
Norah Berk, Senior Program Manager, Nature, Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC)

Speakers:
Harry Ashman, Engagement Specialist, Robeco
Joe Horrocks-Taylor, Vice President, Responsible Investment, Columbia Threadneedle Investments

Panel: What is needed for the policy landscape support nature-positive outcomes?

• What type of policy support is needed to stimulate natural capital investments?
• What public policies does the private sector need to optimise opportunities and overcome challenges?
• How can public policy help financial institutions to better manage and mitigate the material financial risks stemming from nature loss?
• How can financial institutions use stewardship as a tool to stimulate nature-positive corporate conduct and supportive public policies?

Moderator:
Tim Steinweg, Head of Stewardship (Nature), UNPRI
Panellists:
Deepshikha Singh, Head of Stewardship, La Francaise Asset Management
Kevin Flowers, Deputy Head of Sustainable Finance Unit, European Commission
Wijnand Broer, Programme Manager, Partnership for Biodiversity Accounting Financials (PBAF)
Shipra Gupta, Investments Stewardship Lead, Scottish Widows

Panel: Barriers to entry for natural capital investment and how to overcome them

• How should you value nature?
• How do you scale investment opportunities with integrity and impact in mind?
• What lessons can be learned from climate finance?
• How are blended finance structures being created?
• What is holding back natural capital investments from DFIs and private capital? Should DFIs/MDBs be playing a bigger role in nature-based solutions?

Moderator:
Caroline van Leenders, Senior Process Manager, Sustainable Transitions, Netherlands Enterprise

Panellists:
Daniel Farchy, Climate Investment Manager, Private Sector Facility, Green Climate Fund
Esben Brandi, Head of Business Development, BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group
Maya Hennerkes, Director, Green Financial Systems, Climate Strategy and Delivery, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Neelesh Agrawal, Founder & CEO, Calculus Carbon

Closing fireside chat: seizing the opportunities ahead

• A round up of the themes discussed during the day and what this means for natural capital investment
• A case study from Federated Hermes and Finance Earth as a use case for what a nature-positive fund looks like
• What are the lessons learned and future opportunities for investors?

Moderator:
Genevieve Redgrave, Reporter, Environmental Finance

Speakers:
Rich Fitton, Co-Portfolio Manager, UK Nature Impact Fund
Robert Hall, Co-Portfolio Manager, UK Nature Impact Fund

Chair's closing remarks

Close of conference and networking drinks reception