CivTech Scotland launches Innovate for Nature on Finance Day at COP27

CivTech Scotland has launched a new partnership with NatureScot during Finance Day at COP27.  

The Scottish Government-funded tech accelerator programme has announced four new challenges worth £2.6m collectively, as part of the new partnership called ‘Innovate for Nature’.

Each challenge, worth £650,000, is open to companies internationally, and seeks to find innovative solutions faced by public sector bodies in Scotland protecting nature, with a focus on using technology. It is hoped that, while taking on the challenges facing Scotland’s public sector, it will support tech innovators to grow their business and industry profile.  

The challenges include connecting parts of land with freshwater, how technology can better identify marine projects, developing a monitoring system for the health of protected areas, and designing biodiversity credits to help address the £20bn finance gap for nature in Scotland.  

Discussions at COP27 today focus on the centrality of finance as a catalyst for progress on all aspects of the global climate agenda.  

Business Minister Ivan McKee said: “The Scottish Government’s £6m funding this year has enabled rapid growth of the CivTech programme, demonstrating demand and appetite for Government-backed tech accelerators.

“Not only does this programme create practical solutions to real life problems, it is a proven springboard for many businesses to further develop their products and find even greater success within their field.

“The Scottish Government is nurturing innovative solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing the public sector while tackling climate change. The National Strategy for Economic Transformation is helping create innovative green jobs and contributing to reaching net zero by 2045.”  

NatureScot’s director of business services and transformation, Jane Macdonald, said: “Nature loss and climate change are two of the biggest threats we face, and so it’s crucial we respond to these challenges urgently. Innovate for Nature is helping us to do this by changing the way we work, using the CivTech Accelerator to harness digital innovation and helping us to collaborate with partners at speed to understand the issues and identify workable solutions. We are excited to be at the forefront of the Innovate for Nature missions and cannot wait to get started with CivTech 8.”