WASHINGTON D.C. — The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), together with the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), has launched the Net-Zero Nature-Positive Accelerator Integrated Programme, a groundbreaking $100-million initiative designed to accelerate climate and biodiversity action worldwide.
With an additional $700 million in co-financing, the program seeks to align global climate and nature goals by transforming economic and financial systems. It aims to help nations integrate biodiversity protection and net-zero targets into national plans, supporting the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
The initiative will support 12 countries—including Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Thailand, and Viet Nam—through national projects and a global platform for innovation, knowledge exchange, and capacity building. UNEP will lead the effort, with CAF and ADB as co-leads, while UNDP, UNIDO, and FAO will assist in implementation.
Expected outcomes include the restoration or improved management of one million hectares of land and the reduction of 75 million tons of carbon emissions—a direct contribution to tackling the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
Announced during the 2025 World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings, the launch gathered finance ministers, development banks, and private sector leaders under the theme “Catalyzing Public and Private Finance to Accelerate Net-Zero Nature-Positive Action.”
“The science is clear—climate change and biodiversity loss are deeply interconnected crises,” said Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director. “Through this programme, we are helping countries integrate and accelerate action for a net-zero, nature-positive future.”
GEF Chairperson Carlos Manuel Rodríguez added, “This program will help nations mobilize finance at scale, integrate nature-based solutions, and drive the systemic change needed for a sustainable future.”| – BNN Integrated News
