Soil serves as the foundation for food production, water filtration, carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, and overall ecosystem resilience. Yet, financing for soil conservation and restoration initiatives has often been inadequate and fragmented, leaving farmers to face the dual barriers of affordability and access to financial support. It is crucial to catalyze action and mobilize resources towards safeguarding one of our most precious natural resources - our soils. In a joint letter dated 21 March 2024, the UAE COP 28 Presidency, the Azerbaijani COP 29 Presidency, and the Brazilian COP 30 Presidency emphasized finance as the key enabler of climate progress and stressing that “finance must be made more available, accessible, and affordable at every level”. This underscores the importance of increasing financial support for soil health as part of the broader climate finance agenda. 

The event will focus on how to finance soil health and soil restoration, at multiple scales (from farm to national to international levels). By harnessing the potential of healthy soil as a critical ally and a lever in climate mitigation and adaptation, combating drought, and biodiversity conservation, we will strategize on clear entry points for financing and policy interventions to achieve climate, biodiversity, and land targets. Strengthening Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) will be a key focus. Additionally, we will highlight the recently launched NDC Guidance for Agriculture and Food Systems. 

We will explore innovative financing mechanisms and strategies to bolster soil health and restoration efforts, including carbon markets, the repurposing of subsidies, legislation, and blended finance approaches. We will also present concrete solutions that have been implemented on the ground, for example in the African and European context. The event aims to emphasize the relevance of soils for all three Rio Conventions as a supportive argument to increase finance for soils.