Puzzles, Tensions, and the Research Agenda for Biodiversity Finance

Abstract

Biodiversity loss is a systemic financial risk whose channels are more complex and less analytically tractable than climate change. Where climate finance has agreed on standardized measures, disclosure regimes, and, increasingly, on climate risk's role in the pricing of assets, biodiversity finance remains conceptually fragile and empirically under-identified. This paper distills the issues of this emerging field into four recurring tensions that block intellectual and practical progress: (i) measurement and taxonomy, (ii) pricing and transmission, (iii) systemic and corporate finance, and (iv) policy, disclosure, and market infrastructure. We frame each as a puzzle, articulate the contradictions, and end with eight consolidated and high-priority Research Questions (RQs). We tabulate the questions based on impact (the extent to which an answer would meaningfully advance understanding or policy relevance) and tractability (the degree to which current data and methods make an answer feasible), along with concise commentary. The throughline is clear: until measurement can join markets, biodiversity finance will remain hobbled.