INSIDERS | Assessing the benefits of Nature-based Solutions: Implications for financing schemes

How can Nature-based Solutions (NbS) reduce climate risks while delivering additional social and environmental benefits? This question was at the centre of this NATURANCE lunch break seminar, held online on 3 December 2025 as part of the ClimateWise Nature and Insurance Steering Group. The session presented recent advances in evaluating NbS, highlighting both their potential and the challenges in financing and integrating them into risk management.

The event hosted by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) in collaboration with the NATURANCE project, the Free University of Amsterdam and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

NbS are increasingly recognised as a critical tool to mitigate climate risks such as flooding, with co-benefits that extend to society and the environment. The session showcased evidence from the NATURANCE project, including a systematic literature review and meta-analysis that highlighted strong emerging insights and remaining gaps. A new object-based catastrophe model was also presented, quantifying the role of NbS in reducing flood risk using the 2021 European floods as a case study. Speakers further explored approaches for monetising NbS co-benefits and their relevance for insurers.

Agenda

• Presentation & Discussion

  • Wouter Botzen (VU Amsterdam)

  • Guillermo Garcia Alvarez (VU Amsterdam)

  • Max Tesselaar (VU Amsterdam)

  • Andrea Staccione (CMCC)

Speakers shared evidence from recent research and case studies, discussing the challenges insurers and policymakers face, such as short planning horizons and the “free rider effect,” and highlighting strategies to make NbS investment more attractive. For example, coordinated or mandatory contributions in France and the UK were presented as successful mechanisms to support risk reduction. Societal cost–benefit analyses of NbS scenarios in the Netherlands indicated that measures such as retention ponds can deliver significant returns when jointly funded.

Moderation
The discussion was moderated by Dr. Corinne Martin (Programme Manager, CISL), who guided the session and facilitated an engaging exchange on the practical and economic implications of NbS.

This seminar offered insurance professionals, policymakers, and researchers actionable insights on how to evaluate, fund, and implement Nature-based Solutions that deliver both climate resilience and broader societal benefits.