Earth Observation to Scale Nature Finance: Survey 2025

Nicola Ranger, Susana Baena, Samantha Barklam , Ian Downey, Alejandro Guizar-Coutino, Marianne Haahr, Mark Jwaideh, Fiona Pedeboy, Andy Shaw, Roberto Spacey Martin, Niels Strange, Alexander Wollenweber, Gerardo Lopez Saldana, Joseph W Bull

This report presents the results of the LEON User Requirements Survey conducted in summer 2025 to understand how Earth Observation (EO) data can support the mobilisation and scaling of nature finance. The survey targeted financial institutions, data providers, and other stakeholders 
engaged in nature-related investment, risk management, and policy. A total of 27 organisations responded to the general survey, representing banks, asset managers, NGOs, advisory firms, 
international organisations and other actors operating globally. Respondents represent a diverse range of asset sizes and geographic portfolios, with most institutions operating across multiple regions. Overall, the survey highlights strong and growing demand for geospatial environmental data in financial decisionmaking, but also identifies persistent barriers related to data availability, 
standardisation, and integration into financial workflows. The findings confirm that Earth Observation can play a transformative role in scaling nature finance, but only if data products are 
aligned with financial decision-making needs. In particular, users emphasised the need for: asset-level environmental risk indicators; standardised and interoperable datasets; integration with financial datasets and corporate disclosures; and, user-friendly platforms and analytical tools.