Finance is a powerful lever for change, and with this belief, InTent co-hosted a workshop at the recent World Economic Forum annual meeting titled “Mobilising Financial Markets to Value What Matters Most.” Amid the many discussions in Davos, this workshop gained momentum. Despite the shifting political landscape, it highlighted signs within the markets pointing to the inevitable rise of the nature-restoration industry. In this conversation, Katell le Goulven interviews Clara Barby, Senior Partner at Just Climate, and the convener of the workshop, to explore the emergence of this industry.
In Davos, you signaled the emergence of a “restoration industry”? What is driving this upcoming industry and what do you foresee on that topic?
Clara Barby
I started my career in renewables a long time ago (2006). At the time, people thought I was crazy. I remember people saying, “What? You’re putting panels in fields? Windmills? How is this ever going to be an industry?” And now, there are more renewables being installed than other forms of energy. I think we are going to see a restoration industry emerge, just like we saw the renewable energy industry emerge. It’s inevitable, and in twenty years’ time, people won’t think it was such a crazy idea.
In your view, what important points should we keep in mind at the dawn of this industry?
Clara Barby
First of all, it is fundamental to keep science front and center. As Sandrine Dixson-Declève reminded us during the workshop, in times of raging misinformation, evidence-based decision-making is key.
“Science is not up for sale. It is through evidence-based decision-making at all levels of society that we will be able to create an alternative future where all can thrive—not just survive—on this planet that we call home.” — Sandrine Dixson-Declève
Secondly, we must look at restoration opportunities from a systems perspective. As Al Gore said—quoting Thomas Berry—“The universe is not a collection of objects. It is a communion of subjects.” This means we need to stop talking about climate, nature, and people as siloed issues and start addressing them as one conversation that takes the macro-system into consideration. I’ll quote Sandrine Dixson-Declève again, who stressed multiple times in Davos that “we cannot just talk about the different capitals if we don’t look at our extractive system head-on.”
These points are fundamental to keep in consideration for companies, asset owners, and investors as they start asking themselves what to invest in, which solutions can be scaled, and what excites them about this emerging industry.
Katell le Goulven
During the workshop, you looked at the emergence of this restoration industry predominantly from a capital markets perspective. Why this approach?
Clara Barby
Like it or not, markets function on signals. The aim of this session wasn’t so much about solving a specific problem but trying to make people notice that, alongside political change, this is the year when the nature agenda, the climate agenda, and the people’s agenda converge. Multiple market signals are already pointing in that direction. Asset owners are starting to move: we are seeing nature feature in investment mandates. We’re seeing changes in how they think about risk. Corporates are embracing this agenda too: a whole selection of companies with tangible and investable innovations are ready to scale. Central banks can play a role as well by looking at interest rates. This multi-stakeholder conversation wasn’t happening two or three years ago. These are all signals showing that the transition is inevitable.
Katell le Goulven
After creating the momentum in Davos, what comes next?
Clara Barby
We need to move from a session like the one we had in Davos—where the mood and intentions are fully present—to seeing what each individual in that room is going to implement. What I would like to see is that the large investors in that room leave thinking: “I need to talk to all my asset class teams. I need to think about nature in my strategic asset allocation model. I need to better understand the risks that nature poses to my portfolio. And I need to start thinking about how I can use my allocation to drive the opportunities.”
As for companies, I think they need to capture these signals so they can feel supported by them. It can be lonely when you're innovating, but if they can see the dynamics in that room and the market signals, they’ll feel fueled to take their businesses to the next level.
The dream, obviously, would be for these companies—which, as André Hoffmann would say, are demonstrating that multi-capital is possible—to leave the room and connect with the investors we’ve gathered. This would mean we are already bridging the investment and innovation sides of the emerging nature-restoration industry.
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Clara Barby is the Senior Partner of Just Climate. Previously, Clara was CEO of the Impact Management Project (IMP) and project lead for the establishment of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). Clara’s public interest work on standards was made possible through a secondment from her role as a Partner at Bridges Fund Management, where she led the firm’s sustainable and impact strategies across fund types. Prior to Bridges Fund Management, Clara worked for Acumen’s Capital Markets team and later co-led the Acumen clean energy portfolio, investing in South Asia and East Africa.
Clara received a BA (Hons) in Greats from the University of Oxford, and an MBA from INSEAD.
She was awarded a CBE for services to International Sustainability Standards in the 2023 King’s New Year Honours list.
