The new COP30 IFRS Framework for Nature aims to place ecosystems on corporate balance sheets as recognized infrastructure assets, according to a filing released after a Vatican audience that featured King Charles III and Pope Leo XIV.
Report outlines how existing standards could be applied to ecosystems
The Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) Lighthouse Report proposes using International Financial Reporting Standards IAS 37 and IAS 38 to treat natural habitats as productive infrastructure. The document says sovereigns, auditors and institutional investors can then classify forests, wetlands and other ecosystems in the same way they record roads or power plants.
Dr Hubert Danso, chairman and CEO of Africa Investor, said the framework “turns resilience into measurable, investable value.” He added that investors “cannot price what accounting fails to define.” The series also includes a G20 Nature Investment Roadmap and a “Nature in the Portfolio” guide.
Brazil, holding the COP30 presidency, aligned the framework with several global finance initiatives. Those include the G20, the European Union, BRICS, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the African Union’s Nairobi Declaration, the Commonwealth Sustainable Finance Initiatives, the International Sustainability Standards Board, the Taskforce for Nature‑related Financial Disclosures, and the ASEAN Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance.
What the shift could mean for capital markets
By treating nature as infrastructure, the proposal seeks to make it easier for investors to allocate capital to conservation projects. Once ecosystems appear on balance sheets, they become subject to the same audit and assurance processes as traditional assets, potentially unlocking new funding streams.
Related: Data rooms evolve for real-time deal scrutiny
In practice, this could lead to large‑scale financing of reforestation, river restoration and biodiversity corridors. Investors gain clearer metrics for risk and return. The framework also calls for sovereign governments to adopt the standards, creating a uniform baseline for cross‑border investments.
From a broader viewpoint, embedding natural capital in financial statements may push companies to consider environmental impacts more seriously. When nature is quantified alongside buildings or equipment, the cost of degradation becomes a visible line item, encouraging mitigation strategies that align with long‑term profit goals.
The SMI’s Terra Carta, which underpins the document, emphasizes that “Nature, people, and planet are at the heart of the global economy.” By linking that principle to accounting standards, the authors hope to create a “fiduciary pathway” from policy design to capital deployment.
Overall, the launch signals a coordinated effort among faith leaders, policymakers and financial regulators to bring nature into the same accounting framework that governs traditional infrastructure.
