In a clear and decisive call to action in the ‘Financial Actions for Nature’ session at COP17’s High-Level Segment on 27th October 2026, Jan-Erik Saugestad, CEO of Storebrand Asset Management and representative of the Finance for Biodiversity (FfB) Foundation, advocated for policymakers to accelerate the implementation of global biodiversity goals and targets, including by creating the enabling conditions for capital to flow at the speed and scale required.
Speaking on behalf of the FfB Foundation and its community of financial institutions, Jan-Erik Saugestad emphasised that accelerating progress from commitments to investment requires clear and consistent policy frameworks that help align financial flows with the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework.
He outlined four key items:
- Strengthening disclosure, reporting and transition-planning frameworks to provide clarity and comparability for markets.
- Developing sectoral and national transition pathways to give investors greater confidence about future direction.
- Reforming environmentally harmful subsidies and incentives to reward activities with nature positive outcomes instead of those causing harm.
- Building pipelines of commercially viable, scalable investment opportunities to enable greater capital allocation towards nature-positive solutions.
Crucially, Jan Erik Saugestad stressed that progress must go beyond dedicated nature and conservation finance to shifting mainstream capital towards nature-positive outcomes.
Success will not be measured by the size of dedicated nature funds alone. It will be measured by whether biodiversity considerations become integrated across investment and business decisions throughout the economy, unlocking the full potential of private capital.
“Achieving the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework requires a whole-of-government and whole-of-society effort. Finance ministries shape the incentives, policies, and economic frameworks that guide capital allocation. Nature is not only an environmental issue. It is a foundation of economic resilience and long-term prosperity, and managing nature-related risks is therefore part of sound economic governance.”