The Nature Hub CWNYC 2025 events

Halting and reversing deforestation by 2030 is a global imperative—and the financial sector is stepping up. This high-level session at New York Climate Week will mark the official launch of the Priority Actions for Forest Finance, a civil society-led roadmap outlining the key steps policymakers, financial institutions, and central banks must take to meet global goals and regenerate forests. This compliments the growing architecture to support the financial sector meet global goals around halting and reversing deforestation and conversion.

The event will feature senior leaders from government, finance, and civil society across two segments, including:
• Patricia Espinosa, Special Envoy for Latin America, COP30
• Ruth Davies, UK Government Special Representative on Nature
• Jennifer Morris, CEO, The Nature Conservancy
• Thomas Viegas, Group Nature Lead, Aviva
• Eduardo Silviera Mufarej, Co-CIO Just Climate (Generation Investment Management)
• Daniel Brandão, Nature Based Solutions Director, Vox Capital

The event will be chaired by Nigel Topping, Founder of Ambition Loop and Chair of the UK Climate Change Committee.

Key Highlights:
-Launch of the Priority Actions document, aligned with the COP30 Presidency’s Granary of Solutions and UNEP’s Forest Finance Roadmap.
-Fireside chats on policy, portfolio alignment, catalytic capital, and corporate demand
-Practical steps for financial institutions to support resilient, productive land-use systems that regenerate forests and natural capital.

Join us to hear from global decision-makers and changemakers and be part of shaping the future of forest finance ahead of COP30.

As the world accelerates toward COP30 in Belém, a growing global movement is demanding a transformation in how climate and biodiversity finance is delivered. Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) are leading this transformation—not only through their deep stewardship of nature, but by designing and implementing financial mechanisms rooted in their own governance systems, values, and relationships with the Earth.

This session will spotlight the emerging COP30 Global Pledge for IPLC-Led Climate and Biodiversity Solutions—a joint commitment to mobilize $2 billion in direct, accessible, and accountable funding for IPLC-led initiatives by 2030. Moving from pledge to practice means centering IPLC leadership in the design, governance, and implementation of funding mechanisms—and delivering on commitments with integrity, transparency, and equity.

Participants will hear directly from Indigenous leaders and partners advancing groundbreaking models that demonstrate how this transformation is already taking shape. These include the Inclusive Conservation Initiative (ICI), the Dedicated Grant Mechanism (DGM), the Tenure Facility, Blue Nature Alliance, Shanidiaa and new territorial funds designed and governed by IPLCs. These efforts are not just innovations; they represent a fundamental shift in power, equity, and scale—toward finance that is accountable to those who safeguard our planet’s ecosystems.

Indigenous Peoples protect and steward many of the Earth’s most vital ecosystems. While global conversations increasingly recognize their rights and knowledge, the financial systems meant to support climate and nature action often exclude them and fail to recognize their contribution to climate and nature action. It is no longer enough to treat Indigenous Peoples as stakeholders, rather than as rights-holders and leaders of climate and nature action.

This session will be a showcase and panel discussion that brings together exciting examples of Indigenous Leadership at the cutting edge of climate and nature action. Demonstrating examples to the corporate and investment sector of cutting edge place-based leadership, participatory decision making,  metrics and nature tech monitoring, delivering results-based finance, bioeconomy, and community-defined impacts.

This session will spotlight how Indigenous-led approaches are setting new standards for a nature-positive and net-zero aligned economy, not only offering corporates a roadmap for credible nature investment but examples of innovation in corporate strategy. Indigenous panelists will share examples of what works, and what still needs to change, for financial flows to deliver real, lasting impact for nature, climate, and Indigenous Peoples.

Leading examples covered

The FSC Indigenous Foundation
FSC’s Economic Viability Tool & Verified Impact
Nia Tero
4 million hectare and the first Indigenous-Led, Multi-National Ocean Reserve on Earth –  The Melanesian Ocean Reserve
Global Alliance of Territorial Communities
Indigenous Chambers of Commerce
leadership from Peru on  5 million hectare Indigenous led jurisdictional REDD+
Climate Champions Team
Launch of IP data study into indigenous leadership and contribution to climate action
Cali Fund – an introduction to the latest innovative financing mechanism for benefit sharing

As we navigate this crucial, dynamic moment for nature, climate, and communities worldwide, the future of financing nature stands at a critical inflection point. We know that now more than ever, we need to innovate and accelerate efforts to develop and deploy financial solutions at scale. Current investments leave essential conservation work unfunded— a funding gap between $598–824 billion each year.

Recognizing this pivotal moment and building on its long history of transformative partnerships with public and private leaders, WWF is committed to addressing this significant void in the nature finance landscape leveraging its track record in mobilizing financing for nature and tapping into growing interests from corporates and capital markets. To do so, WWF is building on and expanding its existing programs such as Project Finance for Permanence (PFP), Nature-Based Solutions Origination Platform, and WWF Impact to deploy an even broader suite of innovative and scaled-up financial solutions and strategic partnerships to help accelerate conservation objectives, address complex environmental challenges, and transform commitments into actionable, investable solutions.

Join us to learn how WWF’s new Nature Finance and Investment team and partners are unlocking financing solutions for nature, climate, and community. Through high-integrity, high-impact investment opportunities, WWF will bring a strategic suite of financial solutions, across asset classes and public and private finance, to unlock further investments in nature that is enriched by WWF’s global reach, expansive partnerships, and deep scientific expertise.

Nature needs us now to increase the pace—and impact—of nature finance and investment.

Today, funding for forests falls far short of what is needed to make preservation pay. But the tools to close this gap already exist – we just need to use them all, together, and at scale. That means growing the market for jurisdictional forest carbon credits, funding the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, and fuelling the forest bioeconomy. It means easing the debt burdens that hold back forest nations and redirecting subsidies to reward forest-positive choices.

Many countries, communities and coalitions are already making progress using these financial instruments globally. COP30 provides a unique opportunity to spotlight how these instruments can come together, outlining where there has been a step change in the availability of finance and creating a shared vision for how to unlock further finance as we move towards 2030.

Members of the Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership, together with the COP30 Presidency, have taken on this challenge, developing a strategic framework to bring these efforts together and to help scale coordinated global action. This event will launch this framework, setting the stage for concrete action at COP30 and beyond.