‘We must now look to invest in natural capital as the engine of our economy’: HSBC, Lombard Odier and Mirova back new Natural Capital Investment Alliance from The Prince of Wales

The Prince of Wales has launched a Natural Capital Investment Alliance with the HSBC Pollination Climate Asset Management, Lombard Odier and Mirova as founding partners.

The Alliance seeks to mobilise $10bn towards natural capital themes across asset classes by 2022 and serve as a hub to share knowledge and expertise in support of biodiversity restoration, through actions such as carbon offsets and investment vehicles. It is part of Prince Charles’s new Terra Carta, released today to harness the “irreplaceable power of nature”. 

The Prince of Wales said the Natural Capital Investment Alliance will help the financial sector to “arrive at a common language on natural capital investment so that we can start putting money to work and improve the flow of capital”.

Speaking at the One Planet Summit, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales said: “The interdependence between human health and planetary health has never been more clear. For so many of the problems we face, nature, with the benefit of billions of years of evolution, has already provided us with the solutions. 

“But time is running out and we are rapidly wiping out, through mass extinctions, many of nature’s unique treasure trove of species from which we can develop innovative and sustainable products for the future. As we urgently seek to rescue the situation, we must now look to invest in natural capital as the engine of our economy.”

The Prince of Wales said the Natural Capital Investment Alliance will help the financial sector to “arrive at a common language on natural capital investment so that we can start putting money to work and improve the flow of capital”. 

Deriving its name from the historic Magna Carta – a royal charter of human rights created in England 800 years – the Terra Carta, or ‘Earth Charter’ will serve as a guiding mandate for Prince Charles’ Sustainable Markets Initiative, which was launched last year, and has 10 articles. 

Article Six, Sustainable Investing at Scale, says developing new sources of funding for sustainable activities requires showcasing high potential investments and reimaging “mandates, financial analysis, structuring and models of return”. 

There are 11 goals required to achieve sustainable investing at scale, including developing publicly accessible investment strategies toward net zero and natural capital improvement by 2022, and investing in technology infrastructure to achieve the transition to net zero and natural capital restoration. 

Responding to the launch of the Terra Carta, Rachel Owens, Head of Corporate Accountability at Global Witness, warned that the project “will need to prove it goes beyond meaningless voluntary initiatives that have failed to stop corporate abuse”.

“…Across the world, brave land and environmental defenders are standing up to business interests in order to protect their land. In 2019, over 200 people were killed defending the planet,” she continued. “A new Terra Carta must have respect for their safety and human rights at its core and ensure companies stop profiting from violence against defenders, as well as the vital protection for the planet.”