Sustainable Finance.Live 2025: Advancing Resilient Infrastructure
At the opening of Sustainable Finance.Live 2025 in London, event host and founder of ResponsibleRisk, Richard Peers, highlighted the event’s focus on the critical theme of resilient infrastructure.
Peers stressed that resilient infrastructure is fundamental to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which encompass addressing climate change, pollution, biodiversity decline, and fiscal policy. He explained that the primary objective of this year’s conference is to enhance the financing and planning of resilient infrastructure, leveraging nature as a key solution.
He pointed out the need to shift from a mitigation approach to adaptation, emphasizing how the development of sustainable transportation, data centers, and energy systems can foster long-term economic growth. However, questions remain about how such projects will be financed and implemented.
“In our discussions about the new Planning Bill, nature has often been framed as an obstacle to progress,” Peers remarked. “We aim to use this conference to illustrate how nature can be a critical part of the solution—providing funding avenues, enhancing resilience, and offering ecosystem benefits.”
Quoting World Bank data, Peers noted that climate-related disruptions to infrastructure cost approximately $390 billion annually in emerging and developing economies. He pointed out that the additional investment required for resilience measures is less than 3% of total costs, whereas the benefits can amount to $4.2 trillion. This demonstrates that the economic advantages extend well beyond mere savings, particularly when momentum builds for these initiatives.
Peers outlined four key challenges currently confronting infrastructure development:
- Delays in project approvals and workforce shortages
- Legal and environmental hurdles
- Community opposition and governance complications
- Technical and financial limitations
Sustainable Finance.Live 2025 aims to address these challenges and propose scalable strategies for real impact.
In closing his remarks, Peers posed a question to the audience: “If you recognize that nature’s infrastructure is vital for resilient systems, are you clear on how to finance its integration into major projects?” The majority of attendees responded with uncertainty.
Spotlight on the Evenlode Landscape Recovery Project
Following Peers’ opening remarks, Tim Coates, Managing Director of Evenlode Landscape Recovery, delivered the keynote address titled “Flood Management and Nature as Infrastructure – A Case Study.” This session explored the potential for a farming partnership in Gloucestershire to serve as a blueprint for future nature-based water management solutions.
Coates introduced the transformative initiative undertaken by the North East Cotswold Farmer Cluster, which includes 200 farmers across 60,000 hectares and three river catchments. Sixty of these farmers are collaborating with the Evenlode Landscape Recovery Project, aiming to restore the hydrological functions of the entire catchment by revitalizing riverine and riparian habitats.
He emphasized that landscape-scale land management and nature-based solutions can significantly protect existing infrastructure, deliver public benefits, and yield investable returns.
“All human infrastructure can disrupt the natural landscape,” Coates remarked. “Our goal is to envision a future that harmonizes human and ecological needs, incorporating various skills and expertise to create shared value.”
Coates identified water as a primary concern facing catchments globally. He elaborated on how the Evenlode Landscape Recovery Project employs diverse nature-based interventions to enhance catchment structure and restore ecosystems.
He also noted specific locations within the catchment that fail to meet water quality standards, particularly concerning water quality and flood protection.
Coates highlighted multiple nature-based solutions available for asset owners, such as reforestation, floodplain restoration, and channel reconnections. While regulatory requirements for emitting reductions and biodiversity protection are making strides, he asserted that the driving force behind successful infrastructure projects lies in sound business practices.
“For years, we have demonstrated that nature-based solutions offer a more effective allocation of resources. By investing strategically in landscapes and collaborating on these solutions, we can reduce costs while addressing climate impacts,” he concluded.
Coates underscored the urgent need for action, stating, “We are providing evidence that nature-based solutions can safeguard infrastructure, deliver public value, and generate returns. Although we’ve laid the groundwork, time is not on our side. We must scale and replicate these efforts rapidly to achieve the impossible.”