Dr. Rich Stockdale, founder of Oxygen Conservation, delivered the closing keynote at Sustainable Finance Live 2024, where he discussed the future evolution of investment in natural capital.
“I wanted to change the environment for the better. I wanted to take weirs out of rivers, plant trees, reintroduce species, and build new nature reserves,” Stockdale shared, reflecting on his motivation for establishing Oxygen Capital in 2021. The company focuses on investing in land to restore natural capital and sells carbon credits.
By the end of this year, Stockdale stated that the company expects to manage 45,000 acres with a valuation of £150 million. He recalled how his colleagues at the Wildlife Trust were skeptical: “When I told some of them, they laughed because the speed of change in the environmental sector just wasn’t there before.”
Using a cricket metaphor, Stockdale emphasized the current state of the investment landscape in nature: “The environment sector is Test cricket. It’s slow, laboured, traditional, and protected. Investors don’t want Test cricket. They want T20. They want speed, urgency, and internal rates of return (IRRs). Nature doesn’t care about IRR, and that’s the problem—we lack a common language to bridge these two perspectives.”
Commenting on the environmental sector as a whole, Stockdale noted, “It is warm, lovely, kind, and generous, but the standard is really low, making it non-investable. People don’t work hard enough, and they lack an understanding of performance culture.” He concluded, “It isn’t a sector that’s investable or professional yet.”
Addressing the criticisms faced within the space, Stockdale acknowledged that every action taken will draw scrutiny. He explained, “Some people believe the concept of natural capital and profiting from nature is inherently inappropriate, and you won’t change their minds. However, that mindset contributes to the current situation. In my view, the root cause of climate change is the absence of a price on carbon and pollution.”
Stockdale also highlighted the financial potential in the UK’s natural capital market, estimating “£20 billion worth of high-quality, premium natural capital acquisition opportunities.”
Concluding his address, he stressed the urgency of action: “It can’t be any more urgent. We need to move quickly—people want to. We’re making strides every day, improving the landscape to facilitate incredible initiatives. Paradoxically, it’s worth noting that as the climate worsens, it may unintentionally create more opportunities for this business. It’s a challenging reality to acknowledge.”