Mapping the landscape of net-zero nature-positive finance: A review of definitions and frameworks
Achieving a net-zero, climate-resilient, and nature-positive future requires a common understanding of net-zero nature-positive (NZNP) finance. While the terms “net zero” and “nature positive” are increasingly used across policy commitments, financial frameworks, taxonomies, and tracking methodologies, their definitions and applications vary. At the same time, growing recognition of the interdependence between climate change and nature loss is driving the need for more integrated approaches that address both challenges together.
This report provides a comprehensive overview of existing definitions and frameworks for net-zero, nature-positive, and climate-nature finance to date. Drawing on a systematic review of literature published between 2007 and 2025, it identifies areas of convergence and gaps across current approaches, establishing a shared knowledge base to support the development of consistent NZNP pathways.
As the first research output under the Net-Zero Nature-Positive Accelerator Integrated Programme (NZNPA IP), this report provides a common reference point for stakeholders working to advance integrated climate and nature finance approaches. By clarifying how net-zero, nature-positive, and climate-nature concepts are defined and applied, it supports integrated strategy design, clearer investment signals, and more consistent tracking across the NZNPA IP and beyond.
About the Net-Zero Nature-Positive Accelerator Integrated Programme
The Net-Zero Nature-Positive Accelerator Integrated Programme (NZNPA IP) provides a bold and transformative response to the overlapping crises of climate change and biodiversity loss by aligning climate and nature action. By prioritising the integration of climate and nature action, mobilising investment and finance, and promoting policy and governance coherence, the NZNPA IP advances national and global efforts to implement net-zero nature-positive solutions.
Launched in 2025, the programme is a six-year $100 million initiative funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in partnership with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and UNEP.
