Lack of funding for nature worsens the political and social crisis

The lack of investment in nature-based solutions exposes the limitations of the global financial system, with visible consequences such as the wildfires affecting Chile.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warns, in its latest report, of a serious imbalance in global finance related to climate change. According to the report, for every dollar the world invests in protecting nature, it spends 30 dollars destroying it, even though the evidence shows that investing in nature-based solutions is key to tackling the climate, biodiversity and social crisis.

The State of Finance for Nature 2026 report shows that financial flows harmful to ecosystems exceed US$7 trillion a year. Most of it comes from the private sector, concentrated in areas such as energy, industry and basic materials. Another significant share corresponds to harmful public subsidies, that is, those allocated to fossil fuels, intensive agriculture and transport.

The document notes that investments harmful to nature far outstripped those aimed at protecting it in 2023, with US$7.34 trillion in flows that damage ecosystems compared with only US$220 billion allocated to nature-based solutions, almost 90% of which comes from public funds. 

Along these lines, Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, said that this economic figure makes it clear that the choice is between investing in the destruction of nature or driving its recovery. Andersen insists on the urgency of redirecting current financial flows toward nature-positive solutions because “there is no middle ground.”

UNEP warns that the resources allocated to nature remain far below what is needed, since annual investment in solutions for the care of nature does not reach even a third of what is required to meet climate and biodiversity targets by 2030. Among the challenges is also private sector participation, which remains very limited despite the sector being one of the main drivers of the growing risks associated with environmental degradation. 

The UNEP report states that these investments must increase 2.5-fold before 2030 to meet climate and biodiversity targets, which would represent only 0.5% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

The United Nations Programme insists that redirecting the flow of money is key to moving toward a more sustainable economy aligned with nature. The entire world should invest more than US$500 billion a year in nature by 2030. However, the actual flow today is less than half that.

The United Nations warns that this financing gap is not an abstract problem, but translates into concrete impacts on territories and communities, as is happening with the wildfires in Chile. The lack of investment in prevention, adaptation and environmental restoration increases exposure to extreme events, especially in countries with high climate vulnerability.

The Chilean emergency

Chile is facing a serious emergency due to the wildfires occurring this season, which have worsened over the past 10 years because of the drought affecting much of the country. In January 2026, the area hardest hit by the fires is the south-central part of the South American nation.

The United Nations office expressed its solidarity with the communities affected by the fires. In a social media post, it said it stood with those who lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods. It also placed the UN’s capacities at the disposal of the Government of Chile to support the wildfire response. 

The most affected regions are La Araucanía, Biobío, Maule, Ñuble and the Metropolitan Region. According to the National Forestry Corporation, between January 1 and 21 almost 800 fires were recorded, with more than 60,000 hectares burned. Currently, 15 fires remain active nationwide, while another 30 are under control or under observation.

Meanwhile, national authorities reported that since January 17 there have been 21 deaths, dozens injured and more than 7,000 people affected. In addition, more than 500 homes were destroyed and thousands evacuated, especially in the Ñuble and Biobío regions.

The United Nations insists that without a profound change in the global financial system, it is not possible to meet either climate or biodiversity commitments. Protecting nature is not a “cost,” but a condition for economic and social stability. The case of Chile today is an emergency that could have been avoided with the tools proposed in the UNEP report.

The United Nations Programme’s document insists that it is necessary to reverse the trend of nature destruction, but that this requires profound reforms in public policy, the elimination of harmful subsidies and greater private sector participation in environmental finance.

Guillermo Whpei

President of Fundación para la Democracia