Public Finance International: Spending on nature would be the investment of a lifetime
Margaret Kuhlow, finance practice leader at World Wildlife Fund, and Andrew Deutz, director of global policy, institutions, and conservation finance at the Nature Conservatory

“When world leaders gather this weekend in Osaka for the G20 Summit, attention will turn once more to the challenge of realizing sustainable and inclusive economic growth that includes progress toward poverty reduction, human health, and women’s empowerment. … The most cost-effective and environmentally sound way to deliver resilience and prosperity is to radically increase investment in nature-based solutions. This would help achieve emissions reduction targets under the Paris Agreement, and deliver Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on health and well-being, clean water and sanitation, life below water, and life on land. In meeting such enormous challenges, nature is our strongest ally. We need a much deeper commitment to nature-based solutions … It is still scientifically and technically possible to restore nature, deliver the SDGs, and avert dangerous climate change — but that world is only possible if people and nature thrive together…” (6/26).

Financial Times: Letter: Act against illegal fishing to boost food security
Erna Solberg, prime minister of Norway, co-chair of the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, and member of the Friends of Ocean Action; and Shigeru Ito, chair of the Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS) Initiative, and chief executive officer and president of the Maruha Nichiro Corporation Japan

“G20 governments have the chance this week to close the net on illegal fishing, an enterprise that is fueling food insecurity, violence, and poverty … This message was strongly supported by members of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy … They emphasized that illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in our seas is putting fish stocks in peril and jeopardizing a vital supply of food and nutrition for billions of people. Up to 20 percent of all wild fish caught each year globally … is harvested illegally. This undercuts the millions of fishers who are playing by the rules. Many illegal operations are run by criminal organizations that enslave their crews and use the ships for human trafficking. Fortunately, there is a powerful platform for governments and policymakers to help combat this threat. The U.N. Port State Measures Agreement is an international treaty, in line with key targets of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, to keep illegal fish out of ports. Eighty-six countries have now signed up. We need G20 countries and all important flag and port states to join them and implement this agreement” (6/26).