Reimagining Nature Finance

A new Economics for Rebels podcast is out now, the podcast of the European Society for Ecological Economics here. This latest episode is Sophus zu Ermgassen in conversation with the legendary nature finance leader Justin Adams OBE of Ostara and the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance on re-imagining nature finance.

Ecological economists have long argued against the uncritical rollout of instruments that commodify nature which fundamentally reshape human-nature relationships towards an anthropocentric instrumental ethic. On the other hand there’s something very powerful and alluring about the market-based narratives, like the way that they resonate with mainstream actors and the promise of attracting big flows of finance is always just around the corner.

Justin has been a key figure in the environmental movement for decades, spending decades attempting to attract large-scale private finance into nature conservation and restoration. His story is incredibly interesting because after decades of trying and reaching the top of the game, Justin decided that this just wasn’t going to be a systemic solution to the problem of nature degradation. We chart through Justin’s journey in this podcast, asking whether mainstream conservation tools for attracting private investment into nature conservation and restoration are sufficient for achieving a sustainable economy on a finite planet, and what comes next.