Nature Finance – Public or Private?

This online event, organised by SEDA Land, part of the Scottish Ecological Design Association, will explore where the money to finance nature recovery should come from, and how rural and island communities can thrive as Scotland’s natural environment is improved.

Should we rely on the public sector to step up to the challenge of reaching Net Zero and bring socio-economic benefits? If so, how do we raise the taxes to pay for that in a fair and equitable way, for example on the "polluter pays" principle, through a carbon land tax or through other property taxes?

Which specific tax reforms are most likely to hasten nature recovery in Scotland? Are Regional Land Use Partnerships (RLUPs) an appropriate vehicle to coordinate public and private investment to deliver landscape and catchment scale collaboration? Is luring in more private finance the way forward? Maybe it is a combination of the two?

The debate will be in the context of Scotland, with its limited devolved powers and wide regional differences. The panel will look in broad terms at at ways of addressing climate change and improving the environment –

• carbon sequestration,
• reversing biodiversity loss
• flood management – and the benefits this can bring in terms of employment
• strengthened communities, recreation, education, and health & wellbeing

Without finance, achieving these goals is nigh on impossible, so it comes down to the ageold question: Where does the money come from?