Sustainable finance – bringing together conservation finance and economic development

Biodiversity loss is extremely serious and poses significant risks to financial markets. More than half the world’s GDP is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its services, according to the World Economic Forum. Conservation not only protects nature but also supports sustainable economic development. To preserve natural habitats, which are vital to all life on Earth, we need to put significantly more capital to work. Conservation finance can play an important role in making sure that biodiversity is preserved on land and in water and in protecting the health of natural ecosystems.

At Credit Suisse, we understand the risks of biodiversity loss and the economic value of careful conservation. We know that stopping biodiversity loss requires new thinking. In our role as a global bank, we can act to address biodiversity loss through our role as an intermediary between the economy, the environment and society. We work to protect the natural world by guiding investors and entrepreneurs to find opportunities to generate financial returns with impact. We promote conscientious management of the Earth’s natural capital and the conservation of biodiversity through our approach to sustainable finance.

Through partnerships, we work to find innovative ways to harness our financial expertise and initiate new funding mechanisms that can help direct investor capital where it is needed.

In November 2021, Credit Suisse and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) along with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation announced the completion of the world’s largest debt conversion for marine conservation sovereign blue bond, allocating capital towards debt sustainability and marine conservation for Belize. The ocean areas and marine ecosystems of Belize account for a significant part of the country’s economy; they are an important part of the country’s ecotourism and are key to the prosperity of coastal communities in particular.

This is TNC’s inaugural transaction under its Blue Bonds for Ocean Conservation program launched in 2019, which raises investment capital for island and coastal nations to restructure a portion of their national debt and create long-term sustainable finance for marine protection, as well as driving sustainable economic development and addressing climate change.

Credit Suisse acted as sole structurer and arranger of the Blue Bond for TNC pursuant to its Blue Bonds for Ocean Conservation program.