WEF identifies nature-positive opportunities for cities.
The World Economic Forum is publishing a series of reports charting actionable pathways for nature-positive transformation across critical industries and cities.
The World Economic Forum has released a series of reports aimed at accelerating the global shift toward a nature-positive future, including one report which examines urban financing solutions for building sustainable, nature-positive cities.
According to WEF’s findings, less than two-fifths of the world’s 500 most populous cities (37 per cent) have strategies to sustainably manage and protect nature, and spending in urban nature has declined between 2018 and 2023.
What’s more, while almost four-fifths (78 per cent) of Fortune 500 companies have set climate targets, just over one in 10 have established targets to halt or reverse biodiversity loss.
Ecological prosperity
WEF warns that despite “positive momentum” in corporate actions, efforts to address nature and climate challenges remain insufficient to restore planetary health. Corporates, it reports, urgently need more investment pathways and opportunities that demonstrate how profits, growth, and jobs can – and should – align with ecological prosperity.
In response, the report series outlines actionable pathways to protect biodiversity, achieve climate goals, and ensure economic resilience across sectors and geographies amid growing environmental challenges.
It also highlights the critical dependencies and impacts of four key sectors on nature, offering sector-specific strategies for corporate leaders to drive transformative change in their industries. Companies such as Volvo Cars, Anglo American, Vattenfall, CATL and the Port of Antwerp are among those that have provided guidance and insights to inform sector transitions for a more nature-positive future.
“By offering tailored, sector-specific strategies, we are equipping leaders with the tools to accelerate meaningful action and deliver transformative change now”
“The business case for safeguarding nature is clear, and companies can start with no-regret actions today,” said Akanksha Khatri, head of Nature Action Agenda, World Economic Forum.
“Every industry has unique challenges and opportunities when it comes to protecting nature. By offering tailored, sector-specific strategies, we are equipping leaders with the tools to accelerate meaningful action and deliver transformative change now.”
Nature is not only critical for a healthy climate; it is the backbone of the global economy. WEF reckons an estimated $44 trillion of economic value generation – more than half the world’s GDP – is estimated to be moderately or highly dependent on nature.
Yet, according to WEF, biodiversity and functioning ecosystems worldwide are threatened by pressing issues such as land and sea use change, climate change, pollution, water scarcity and invasive species.
Companies, investors and government leaders cannot afford to delay addressing nature loss any longer. Although momentum among companies and cities is on the rise following the Cop16 biodiversity summit in Colombia in October 2024, sectoral guidance and strategic steps to inform nature-positive efforts have so far been lacking.
The report series aims to fill this gap and guide industries forward at pace. It highlights priority actions both within and beyond value chains. These include tailored, industry-specific steps that companies can take to become nature positive, such as avoiding and reducing impacts from operations and materials, as well as cross-sector collaboration on policy and standards. In addition, the new research identifies $1.4 trillion in nature-positive opportunities across four sectors globally.
“These reports are critical to translate ambition on nature into action, by providing clarity around a complex landscape and offering leaders the tools they need to start transforming their operations towards a nature-positive future, today”
The World Economic Forum’s Nature Positive Transitions series, developed in collaboration with global management consultancy Oliver Wyman, Business for Nature and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, outlines different pathways to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030, the mission at the heart of the Global Biodiversity Framework.
“We are beginning to see nature emerge as a key issue for leaders across industries, the financial sector, and the public sector,” said Nick Studer, president and chief executive officer, Oliver Wyman. “These reports are critical to translate ambition on nature into action, by providing clarity around a complex landscape and offering leaders the tools they need to start transforming their operations towards a nature-positive future, today.”
Davos annual meeting
In addition to urban financing solutions for building sustainable, nature-positive cities, the five other reports focus on sector-specific strategies for critical industries – offshore wind, ports, automotive (global and a China deep-dive), and mining and metals.
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025, taking place in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, kicks off next week on 20-24 January. It will convene global leaders under the theme Collaboration for the Intelligent Age. The meeting aims to foster new partnerships and insights to shape a more sustainable, inclusive future in an era of rapidly advancing technology, focusing on five key areas: Reimagining Growth, Industries in the Intelligent Age, Investing in People, Safeguarding the Planet, and Rebuilding Trust.
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