Call for Proposals: Evolving Approaches to Valuing Coastal Ecosystem Services and Innovative Financing Featured at the 2026 RAE Coastal & Estuarine Summit
By: Daniel Hayden, President and CEO, Restore America’s Estuaries
Coastal ecosystems—wetlands, estuaries, mangroves, seagrasses, coral reefs, and natural shorelines—provide billions of dollars in ecosystem services to communities, but rarely appear on the balance sheet of state or federal agencies. Given the challenges facing our coasts and coastal communities, there is an urgent need to unlock this potential through innovative, ethical and predictable financing and insurance mechanisms.
The potential to incorporate the value of ecosystems into property insurance is tremendous. Updated modeling by USACE shows wetlands can reduce storm surge heights by 1 meter per 4–25 km traveled, varying by vegetation density and geography. These protective effects translate into avoided property damages that may reach hundreds of millions of dollars in high‑risk regions. [coast.noaa.gov]
Voluntary carbon markets are also emerging as a complementary source of financing. A 2025 benchmark placed blue‑carbon credit prices at a record $29.30 per ton CO₂e, driven by tight supply and rapidly growing corporate procurement aligned with integrity standards under the Core Carbon Principles guidance updates in 2025. [dialectica.io]
All these unrealized economic benefits exist along rising insurance costs that is fostering insurance Innovations and risk‑transfer mechanisms. Insurance markets are undergoing rapid restructuring due to escalating climate impacts. In 2025 alone, total losses (insured + uninsured) cost the US $126 billion—its costliest first half in history. The NAIC’s 2024 National Climate Resilience Strategy emphasizes pre‑disaster mitigation, supporting premium incentives for home hardening, flood reduction, and other resilience measures to stabilize markets under rising climate volatility. [content.naic.org]
With limited financing available through federal and state agencies, there is need to turn to private capital. Sustainable investing in the U.S. remained robust through 2025, with $6.6 trillion in assets explicitly marketed as ESG/sustainable. Nearly 70% of investors report long‑term commitment to sustainability despite political headwinds, confirming strong potential for nature‑based investing in coastal resilience. [ussif.org]
In the US, states are flexing their role as incubators of innovation. States are deploying pay‑for‑success contracts, environmental markets, and public‑private partnerships to finance wetland restoration. Maryland’s 2022 Conservation Finance Act enables outcome‑based contracting for verified environmental improvements, while Louisiana and others are piloting coastal environmental markets that assign tradable monetary values to ecosystem benefits such as water filtration or carbon reduction. [pew.org]
Join Us in Shaping the Future of Coastal Finance
We invite you to help lead the national conversation at the 2026 RAE Coastal & Estuarine Summit. We are seeking proposals for sessions on topics such as:
- Valuing ecosystem services like storm resilience, water filtration, blue carbon and climate resilience
- Tapping into ESG and socially oriented investments
- Approaches to insuring assets both traditional and ecological
- Models of integrating ecosystem service values into public policy (land use, insurances, etc.)
- Socially responsible investing.
Submit your proposal here: https://estuaries.org/2026-summit-call-for-proposals/
We are also seeking sponsors who want to highlight their leadership in {insert topic} —whether you’re looking to reach new customers, showcase innovations, or hire top talent. For sponsorship information, contact LSpeidell@estuaries.org.
Registration for the 2026 RAE Coastal & Estuarine Summit opens April 13.
