Yorkshire based environmental projects receive up to £100,000 each to boost investment in nature

Innovative projects to restore and rewet peatlands, create green urban spaces and improve flood resilience are among 50 schemes nationally to benefit from the final round of a pioneering fund to drive private investment in nature and tackle climate change.    

The second round of the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF), announced today by Defra and the Environment Agency, will provide grants of up to £100,000 to environmental groups, local authorities, businesses and other organisations to help them develop nature projects to a point where they can attract private investment.     

The funding will help to develop projects so they can demonstrate a return on that investment by capturing the value of carbon, water quality, biodiversity and other benefits provided by natural assets such as woodlands, peatlands and rivers – with revenue generated through the sale of carbon storage, improvements in biodiversity, natural flood and management benefits.  

Projects from the first round of funding announced in July 2021 are making good progress, setting up governance such as community interest companies to manage income and revenue, and creating models for generating and selling carbon, biodiversity and water quality benefits.  

These new projects will build on the success of the fund so far. One of the four NEIRF pilot schemes, the Wyre Natural Flood Management project, has secured investment and will now deliver work to reduce flood risk to downstream communities – generating income through the sale of these services.   

Over several years, interventions in the Wyre catchment will include wetland creation and temporarily storing water by putting in place leaky barriers, sloped embankments and hedgerows alongside peatland restoration and river restoration.

Other measures include slowing overland water flow through changes in grassland management, and tree planting to allow water to seep into the ground.   

It is the first project to use a new green investment financial model, which will see the upfront investment repaid through contracts with organisations that benefit from these improvements, including water and insurance companies.

Lord Benyon, minister for green finance, said, “given the scale of the environmental challenges we face, including climate change and biodiversity loss, it is crucial all parts of society play a part and we attract finance from diverse sources to help support this work.     

Emma Howard Boyd CBE, Chair of the Environment Agency and interim Chair of the Green Finance Institute, said, “What we learn from these projects will help the private sector invest in activities that deliver both environmental improvements and generate returns.

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