Greening Finance for Nature
Flagship 2 takes aim at the decision-making processes of financial institutions such as banks and asset management companies. Their decisions can impact nature adversely, and this needs to change. The focus will be on portfolio risk management, business strategy, risk disclosure, and the prevention of greenwashing. The challenges include securing reliable data, addressing gaps in scientific knowledge, and bridging the gap between science and finance. The goal is to revolutionise financial decision-making by incorporating nature within it. This will be driven by scientific data and guidance, and new regulatory frameworks.
Flagship Leader: Dr Nicola Ranger
Nicola is Executive Director of Earth Capital Nexus, and Professor in Practice of Natural Capital, Risk and Finance at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science. Her research and policy engagement sit at the interface of finance, nature and systemic resilience. She develops decision grade evidence and tools that help financial institutions and governments to integrate climate- and nature related risks into strategy, supervision and investment, and to mobilise capital for resilient, nature positive development. Nicola leads cross disciplinary collaborations on nature aligned finance, risk assessment and stress testing, and contributes to advisory groups for Central Banks, standard setters, and international financial institutions. Before joining LSE, she worked across academia, development finance, and government, including roles connected to the World Bank and the University of Oxford. She completed postdoctoral research in climate economics and policy at LSE and holds a doctorate in Atmospheric Physics from Imperial College London. Her recent work examines how to embed nature in fiscal frameworks and debt sustainability analyses, strengthen firm level resilience through better disclosure and risk management, and scale innovative market designs that reward biodiversity and ecosystem services. Across research, education and policy outreach, she champions open, evidence based approaches that accelerate credible transitions for the real economy and financial systems.