Pathways toward a nature-positive financial system

As human activities increasingly threaten Earth's systems, the influence of the financial system on human endeavor and nature is gaining recognition. However, discussions on sustainable finance often overlook a key insight from transformative change and complex systems research: the need to interrogate the paradigms that shape behavior. Conceptualizing finance as a complex system and drawing on the concept of “leverage points,” this paper proposes three paradigm shifts that target the system's deepest level—its intent. These shifts open pathways for transformation across macro (nature-society-economy), meso (inter-institutional), and micro (intra-institutional) scales. Building on them, we identify concrete and coherent interventions targeting macro-financial supervision, regulatory frameworks, and corporate governance. Our approach contributes by (1) offering a holistic view of transformation across system scales; (2) re-centering sustainable finance on normative concerns and human agency, challenging prevailing technocratic framing; and (3) linking long-term visions with actionable interventions, connecting deep and shallow levers of change.