Development Bank Loan Books Risk Hit From Nature Loss: Report
LONDON (Reuters) - The world's development finance institutions (DFIs) are exposed to potential nature-related losses across more than a quarter of their investments and should carry out regular stress tests to better understand the risks, a report said on Friday. Of the $11.2 trillion invested by the world's 450 DFIs at the end of 2019, $3.1 trillion was financing projects highly dependent on vulnerable ecosystems, the report by the Finance for Biodiversity Initiative said. F4B is a think-tank backed by the MAVA Foundation, a philanthropic body focused on conserving biodiversity. The projects in which the DFIs invested were collectively responsible for risking around $1.1 trillion in damage to the natural world every year, despite many of the groups having a mandate to finance sustainable development, it added. DFIs, often owned by governments, are responsible for helping finance infrastructure, agriculture and other projects across the world, many of which are in resource-i...