8. Conclusions

Biodiversity is becoming “the new climate” in terms of the attention it is getting in the financial sector, and the requirements that financial institutions need to consider. The quickly growing attention to this very important topic is also seen in the number of financial analytical tools that are currently under development. In addition to a number of tools (Appendix B), private and public financial institutions’ safeguards are the main strategies used at the current stage.

The Nordic Financial institutions are well on their way in terms of addressing and working with the biodiversity agenda. Overall, the Nordic Financial Institutions have outspoken biodiversity considerations at strategy and policy level, and they are following the development of analytical biodiversity tools, but have not yet adopted them. At finance activity level, the institutions incorporate biodiversity considerations into their ESG and risk assessments.

The Nordic Financial Institutions are in some cases directing finances specifically towards Nature-based solutions and they have cases of Nature-based solutions in their portfolios. Since the Nordic Financial Institutions have climate in their mandate to a larger degree than biodiversity, Nature-based Solutions are to some degree regarded as an opportunity to integrate biodiversity considerations into projects that they can finance under a climate mandate.

The Nordic Financial Institutions Nefco and NIB actively make use of the EU Taxonomy for their financing activities. Both institutions asses the alignment of their projects with the technical screening criteria and the Do No Significant Harm Criteria from the taxonomy. NDF does not formally make use of the EU Taxonomy in their operations.