The world is waking up to the scale of the planetary emergency we face and the realization that we need a new type of economy for our climate and for nature. This requires a financial response: a dramatic shift in existing public and private domestic and international financial flows, as well as the generation of new sources of finance. This event will come just 24 hours after the launch of the Principles of Responsible Banking – where banking CEOs will come from all five continents to set business targets that are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement – demonstrating the urgency with which that community is now acting.

At this event, you will hear about initiatives under way to shift finance flows, and it will also showcase two real-life projects that embody the financing of nature-based solutions in very different ways. Firstly, the Great Green Wall an African-led initiative, supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and Connect4Climate - the World Bank Group, which aims to restore degraded landscapes on a staggering scale: 8,000km across the southern edge of the Sahara Desert and has attracted $4 billion in funding. Secondly, The Nature Conservancy’s Cumberland Forest Project deal which represents one of the largest restoration efforts ever undertaken in the eastern United States in the coalfields of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia, using a combination of private investment and science to demonstrate the economic and ecological benefits of sustainable forest management.

The evening will consist of:

• Insights on financing nature-based solutions from world-leading experts including Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chair of the Global Environment Facility; Ibrahim Thiaw of Mauritania, Executive Secretary of UNCCD; Laura Tuck, Vice President for Sustainable Development, World Bank Group; and Charlotte Kaiser, Managing Director of TNC’s NatureVest.

• A chance to see clips from the Great Green Wall documentary, Executive Produced by the Oscar nominee, Fernando Meirelles (City of God) about Malian singer Inna Modja’s epic journey on the frontline of climate change, which recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival.

• A cocktail reception featuring sustainably-sourced canapés with 200+ invite-only guests.