Forest Finance conference held at USI

On Monday 16 December at 1:30 pm Università della Svizzera italiana with its Centre for Climate Finance and Sustainability, in partnership with the Federal Office for the Environment FOEN and the SFI Swiss Finance Institute (SFI), hosted the conference: "Forest Finance - Carbon, Biodiversity, and Beyond” to explore with experts the financial solutions related to forest preservation, carbon and biodiversity credits, and their climate impact.

The conference began with a welcome address by Michael Reinhard, Head of Forest Division of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), followed by a presentation from Keith Anderson, (Head of International Forest Policy, FOEN) on the state of global forest finance. Anderson stressed prioritising deforestation over sustainable forest management, particularly in developing countries, while recognising the unique challenges faced by the Global North and South. Despite Latin America and the Caribbean housing only 22% of the world's forests, the Amazon's significance remains undeniable. A critical point raised was the role of logging in deforestation versus land conversion for agriculture.

Prof. Eric Nowak, Full Professor of the Faculty of Economics at USI, presented next, exploring whether investors care about corporate carbon offset purchases. Preliminary findings suggest limited investor concern, which challenges expectations. While offsets could be perceived as either unnecessary costs or strategic CSR alignment, the evolving dataset may yield deeper insights.

Prof. Peter Seele, Full Professor in the Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society at USI, followed with a talk on biodiversity credits, concluding that their logic remains elusive as the Global accounting logic from the principle of carbon offsets would not apply here and warranting further research to clarify their purpose and feasibility.

The keynote by Prof. Vincent Gauci (University of Birmingham) introduced a groundbreaking discovery: trees play a role in absorbing methane and converting it into less harmful CO₂. Given methane's significant warming potential—up to 80 times that of CO₂—this finding amplifies the importance of forest protection for mitigating climate change. While the exact mechanisms and conditions still remain under investigation, the results might have profound implications for forest finance.

A panel discussion, moderated by USI master's student Paula Palermo, provided an informal platform for further insights from the speakers. The event concluded with Prof. Rasa Smite's innovative presentation, showcasing the use of forest data as inspiration for a digital immersive art installation. This creative approach resonated as both a unique artistic expression and a non-scientific method of engaging with complex forest data.