The finance and insurance community – welcoming stakeholders from the research, private and policy sectors, and civil society – will convene in Brussels from 3-5 February 2026, during the NATURANCE Finance Innovation Festival to discuss the transformative power of Nature-based Solutions for Europe’s climate resilience and beyond.
The impacts of climate-related disasters in Europe have grown rapidly in recent years, posing significant challenges to respond adequately and harness the power of critical sectors such as finance and insurance to drive nature-based prevention and resilience. The final Finance Innovation Festival, the fourth edition of the hybrid flagship event organized in the context of the NATURANCE project – hosted at the Brussels info place from 3-5 February, 2026 – aims to provide a structured space to connect policy ambition with science-based market innovation.
The three-day hybrid event will combine high-level policy dialogue – featuring representatives from the European Commission, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), the European Parliament and international organisations – with hands-on, solution-oriented sessions. Strategic plenaries and moderated panels will bring together relevant stakeholders to examine emerging regulatory frameworks, market standards and public–private funding instruments. While interactive sessions will allow participants to engage directly with real-world examples, tools, and methodologies.
The Festival will open with a keynote by Douglas Mason, a U.S.-based infrastructure specialist with over two decades of experience in the public and private sectors. Dr. Mason has helped develop $40 billion in built infrastructure and partnerships to conserve 44 million hectares of natural areas. The first day will set the scene with his keynote address, introducing the event’s two pillars: financing and risk transfer for Nature-based Solutions (NbS).
The opening plenary will be followed by a top-tier discussion featuring EU Commission and Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership experts, Maria Fuentes Merino, Albena Taneva and Tsevetelina Kuzmanova, who will address upcoming EU policy developments and how they can drive large-scale investment in nature-positive action. The panel – titled “EU initiatives for financing nature” – will explore how these initiatives can mobilise “big-money” funding streams and align cohesion, agricultural, and industrial policy with biodiversity and climate goals in the European Union.
Concluding the first day, a second panel – titled “Private initiatives for financing nature” – will delve into the NbS financing gap, drawing on the experience of private sector representatives in advancing investment in NbS and natural capital, alongside European and International organisations, including EIOPA and UNEP-FI.
The second day will focus on practical solutions, showcasing innovative insurance and investment mechanisms to scale NbS, developed and implemented in participating projects and initiatives. Through interactive workshops, breakout sessions, and peer exchange, participants will explore tools, data, and partnerships that strengthen resilience.
On the closing day, the Festival will wrap up all the knowledge shared and created during the NATURANCE project lifespan, starting with legacy policy recommendations from the project network, outlining concrete implementation pathways that will be analysed and discussed by high-level panelists.
The final panel will reflect on these recommendations and contribute to shaping actionable insights that can inform EU and national agendas, with contributions from EU Commission experts Vanessa Bruynooghe and Magdalena Bos-Lewandowska, and member of the European Parliament (Finland), Sirpa Pietikäinen.
All keynotes, plenaries and panels will be livestreamed. Online registration for the event is open here.
More information is available on the official event page.
Email contact: info@naturanceproject.eu. Press contact: com-raas@cmcc.it.