Biodiversity and Financial Risk: Mexico's Path to Nature-Positive

In an increasingly disruptive global environment, where uncertainty is the common denominator, confrontation is replacing collaboration and multilateralism, and trust is steadily losing value, environmental risks continue to rank among the most severe in terms of their long-term impact (Global Risk Report 2026). At the same time, large institutional investors are reconfiguring their strategies for effective risk management and capital allocation, without losing sight of long-term priorities amid short-term pressures.

We are witnessing how new investment teams analyze companies through the lenses of physical climate risk and biodiversity loss. Investors have found that, when assessing the physical risks of climate change, there are clear intersections with aspects related to nature and biodiversity. Companies, for their part, are increasingly incorporating biodiversity considerations into their climate adaptation and resilience strategies.

In this sense, we cannot say that climate change entails a greater risk than biodiversity loss, nor the opposite. The relationship between these two challenges is stronger than we often assume, and it is important to take it into account in investment strategies and corporate engagement. When discussing risks related to extreme weather events, floods, water stress, or heat stress, the serious consequences for ecosystem health and the services they provide become evident, as well as their impact on biodiversity and disruptions in supply chains, to name just one example.

If we neglect nature and fail to value the important benefits it provides, we will face new economic and financial risks. In recent years, public policy, regulation, and disclosure standards have been developed to incorporate nature into the financial ecosystem.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), launched in 2022, aims to halt and reverse nature loss that threatens the survival of species and the lives of millions of people, establishing, among other objectives, the closing of the biodiversity financing gap, currently estimated at US$700 billion per year.

Through the Network for the Greening of the Financial System (NGFS), we know that the degradation of nature could have significant macroeconomic implications, and that failing to account for it may pose risks to financial stability. That is why the NGFS is developing new tools for managing nature-related financial risks, and central banks and supervisors in 29 jurisdictions are already integrating nature into their prudential frameworks.

Recently, in November 2025, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) advanced its work on nature-related risks and opportunities, focusing on recommendations, metrics, and guidelines from the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) on biodiversity, ecosystems, and ecosystem services (BEES), contributing to the generation of high-quality nature-related data for capital markets participants.

This is why Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) play an important role in limiting climate change, halting biodiversity loss, and achieving land degradation neutrality. Through ecosystem restoration, sustainable forestry, and regenerative agriculture, it is possible to manage and restore ecosystems while addressing societal challenges more effectively and adaptively. The challenge lies in developing financial models that allow for the monetization of benefits, such as carbon capture, biodiversity recovery, water regulation, and enhanced resilience.

In Mexico, we face significant challenges related to nature degradation and climate change, including agricultural losses due to changing weather patterns, millions of hectares lost to deforestation, and more than 60% of the country’s land affected by some form of degradation. We face limitations in accessing vital ecosystem services, as well as challenges in achieving land stability, resilience, productivity, and biodiversity.

However, there are enabling conditions that will soon allow us to build a favorable environment to close financing gaps and allocate capital to projects that better manage climate and biodiversity risks. Key instruments include Mexico's National Biodiversity Strategy* (ENBioMex); Nationally Determined Contributions 3.0 (NDC 3.0); National Environmental Restoration Program (PNRA); Sustainable Finance Mobilization Strategy (EMFS); Sustainable Taxonomy of Mexico (TSM); and financial regulation aligned with ISSB standards issued by the CNBV.

The present calls on us not to lose sight of the future and to design clear strategies that are not derailed by short-term disruptions.