Hassan Aftab
@hassanaftab.bsky.social
I talk about nature finance, climate, air pollution, and sometimes rocks. Currently Nature Finance CDF @Oxford, prev: PhD Earth Sciences
We introduce NatureKG, the first ontology and instantiated knowledge graph (KG) specifically tailored to nature finance, designed to support financial institutions in systematically assessing environmental risks, impacts, and dependencies.
www.frontiersin.org/journals/art...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/art...
Frontiers | NatureKG: an ontology and knowledge graph for nature finance with a Text2Cypher application
IntroductionNature finance involves complex, multi-dimensional challenges that require analytical frameworks to assess risks, impacts, dependencies, and syst...
www.frontiersin.org
December 5, 2025 at 9:12 AM
We introduce NatureKG, the first ontology and instantiated knowledge graph (KG) specifically tailored to nature finance, designed to support financial institutions in systematically assessing environmental risks, impacts, and dependencies.
www.frontiersin.org/journals/art...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/art...
Reposted by Hassan Aftab
@hassanaftab.bsky.social & co-authors conducted a systematic review @cellpress.bsky.social , identified four persistent barriers:
- Limited financial returns
- High risk and uncertainty
- High transaction costs
- Undervaluation of nature
- Limited financial returns
- High risk and uncertainty
- High transaction costs
- Undervaluation of nature
Unlocking private finance for nature: Addressing barriers and reframing risk-return dynamics
Environmental science; Nature conservation; Natural resources; Economics
www.cell.com
October 22, 2025 at 8:31 AM
@hassanaftab.bsky.social & co-authors conducted a systematic review @cellpress.bsky.social , identified four persistent barriers:
- Limited financial returns
- High risk and uncertainty
- High transaction costs
- Undervaluation of nature
- Limited financial returns
- High risk and uncertainty
- High transaction costs
- Undervaluation of nature
Reposted by Hassan Aftab
"It is critical to mobilise financial resources to support projects that explicitly target the conservation, sustainable management, (...) on which human life depends." @hassanaftab.bsky.social :
How to unlock private finance for nature: reframing risk-return dynamics
Nature-related projects to protect, manage, or restore the Earth’s ecosystems are vital if we are to maintain a liveable planet, yet these projects cannot be funded at the required scale by public finance alone. In my research at the Oxford Smith School, I explore how we can unlock private capital to help replenish the natural world.
www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk
October 22, 2025 at 8:31 AM
"It is critical to mobilise financial resources to support projects that explicitly target the conservation, sustainable management, (...) on which human life depends." @hassanaftab.bsky.social :
The financial system is designed to maximise commercial risk–return trade-offs, not ecological integrity. If we want to unlock private finance for nature, we need to rethink what risk and return actually mean in a planetary context.
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
Unlocking private finance for nature: Addressing barriers and reframing risk-return dynamics
Environmental science; Nature conservation; Natural resources; Economics
www.cell.com
October 17, 2025 at 2:03 PM
The financial system is designed to maximise commercial risk–return trade-offs, not ecological integrity. If we want to unlock private finance for nature, we need to rethink what risk and return actually mean in a planetary context.
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
Reposted by Hassan Aftab
A Field-Level Asset Mapping Dataset for England's Agricultural Sector doi.org/10.1038/s415... paper by @hassanaftab.bsky.social et al
Dataset doi.org/10.5281/zeno... (CC-SA)
Blog post www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/news/we-mapp...
#farmdata #opendata #landuse #biodiversity
Dataset doi.org/10.5281/zeno... (CC-SA)
Blog post www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/news/we-mapp...
#farmdata #opendata #landuse #biodiversity
July 23, 2025 at 4:33 PM
A Field-Level Asset Mapping Dataset for England's Agricultural Sector doi.org/10.1038/s415... paper by @hassanaftab.bsky.social et al
Dataset doi.org/10.5281/zeno... (CC-SA)
Blog post www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/news/we-mapp...
#farmdata #opendata #landuse #biodiversity
Dataset doi.org/10.5281/zeno... (CC-SA)
Blog post www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/news/we-mapp...
#farmdata #opendata #landuse #biodiversity
NEW PAPER ALERT!
Our paper titled 'A Field-Level Asset Mapping Dataset for England’s Agricultural Sector' has been published in Scientific Data.
It is the first known effort to produce an open-source farm-level dataset for England
@smithschool.ox.ac.uk
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Our paper titled 'A Field-Level Asset Mapping Dataset for England’s Agricultural Sector' has been published in Scientific Data.
It is the first known effort to produce an open-source farm-level dataset for England
@smithschool.ox.ac.uk
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A Field-Level Asset Mapping Dataset for England’s Agricultural Sector - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - A Field-Level Asset Mapping Dataset for England’s Agricultural Sector
www.nature.com
July 16, 2025 at 11:54 AM
NEW PAPER ALERT!
Our paper titled 'A Field-Level Asset Mapping Dataset for England’s Agricultural Sector' has been published in Scientific Data.
It is the first known effort to produce an open-source farm-level dataset for England
@smithschool.ox.ac.uk
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Our paper titled 'A Field-Level Asset Mapping Dataset for England’s Agricultural Sector' has been published in Scientific Data.
It is the first known effort to produce an open-source farm-level dataset for England
@smithschool.ox.ac.uk
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Here's a case study of our recent work on air pollution in the IGP region by AWS
aws.amazon.com/solutions/ca...
aws.amazon.com/solutions/ca...
University of Oxford’s APAD Uses AWS to Improve Air Quality and Aid Communities with ML | Case Study | AWS
Learn how the University of Oxford’s APAD is advancing air pollution research with ML pipelines powered by Amazon EC2 instances.
aws.amazon.com
June 3, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Here's a case study of our recent work on air pollution in the IGP region by AWS
aws.amazon.com/solutions/ca...
aws.amazon.com/solutions/ca...
NEW PAPER ALERT!
Happy to announce that the a paper I've been supervising has just been published in scientific data!
It provides an open source dataset of the brick kilns in Pakistan's IGP region with implications for air pollution and bonded labour
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Happy to announce that the a paper I've been supervising has just been published in scientific data!
It provides an open source dataset of the brick kilns in Pakistan's IGP region with implications for air pollution and bonded labour
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Brick Kiln Dataset for Pakistan’s IGP Region Using AI - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - Brick Kiln Dataset for Pakistan’s IGP Region Using AI
www.nature.com
May 22, 2025 at 10:16 PM
NEW PAPER ALERT!
Happy to announce that the a paper I've been supervising has just been published in scientific data!
It provides an open source dataset of the brick kilns in Pakistan's IGP region with implications for air pollution and bonded labour
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Happy to announce that the a paper I've been supervising has just been published in scientific data!
It provides an open source dataset of the brick kilns in Pakistan's IGP region with implications for air pollution and bonded labour
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Lahore has no day where the air quality meets WHO guidelines this year. Little has been done despite have multiple data points
www.france24.com/en/live-news...
www.france24.com/en/live-news...
'Really suffocating': Pakistan emerges from record smog season
Tens of millions of Pakistanis spent at least four months breathing toxic air pollution 20 times above safe levels, in the worst winter smog season for several years, according to data analysed by AFP...
www.france24.com
March 11, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Lahore has no day where the air quality meets WHO guidelines this year. Little has been done despite have multiple data points
www.france24.com/en/live-news...
www.france24.com/en/live-news...
The German Government's Sustainable Finance Advisory Committee has published its position on the hashtag #omnibus.
They position to have alear commitment to double materiality: "The EU should take a leading role to shape and extend the international baseline" 1/n
They position to have alear commitment to double materiality: "The EU should take a leading role to shape and extend the international baseline" 1/n
February 23, 2025 at 8:00 PM
The German Government's Sustainable Finance Advisory Committee has published its position on the hashtag #omnibus.
They position to have alear commitment to double materiality: "The EU should take a leading role to shape and extend the international baseline" 1/n
They position to have alear commitment to double materiality: "The EU should take a leading role to shape and extend the international baseline" 1/n
Biodiversity is finally getting the financial attention it deserves, but is it enough?
Biodiversity finance has risen to $208bn a year from $166bn three years ago!
Over $58 trillion of global GDP depends on nature, yet the biodiversity financing gap stands at $700 billion annually 1/n
Biodiversity finance has risen to $208bn a year from $166bn three years ago!
Over $58 trillion of global GDP depends on nature, yet the biodiversity financing gap stands at $700 billion annually 1/n
February 22, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Biodiversity is finally getting the financial attention it deserves, but is it enough?
Biodiversity finance has risen to $208bn a year from $166bn three years ago!
Over $58 trillion of global GDP depends on nature, yet the biodiversity financing gap stands at $700 billion annually 1/n
Biodiversity finance has risen to $208bn a year from $166bn three years ago!
Over $58 trillion of global GDP depends on nature, yet the biodiversity financing gap stands at $700 billion annually 1/n
anyone here who's an economist and can help me understand efficient frontier? please inbox
February 11, 2025 at 7:42 PM
anyone here who's an economist and can help me understand efficient frontier? please inbox
New paper by Wauchope et al. (2024) dives into the complexities of biodiversity credits
Key takeaways:
🟢 Standardising biodiversity into a single ‘unit’ is deeply challenging.
⚠️ Risks of additionality, leakage & permanence remain unsolved.
❓Should credits offset harm or simply fund nature recovery?
Key takeaways:
🟢 Standardising biodiversity into a single ‘unit’ is deeply challenging.
⚠️ Risks of additionality, leakage & permanence remain unsolved.
❓Should credits offset harm or simply fund nature recovery?
January 31, 2025 at 11:30 AM
New paper by Wauchope et al. (2024) dives into the complexities of biodiversity credits
Key takeaways:
🟢 Standardising biodiversity into a single ‘unit’ is deeply challenging.
⚠️ Risks of additionality, leakage & permanence remain unsolved.
❓Should credits offset harm or simply fund nature recovery?
Key takeaways:
🟢 Standardising biodiversity into a single ‘unit’ is deeply challenging.
⚠️ Risks of additionality, leakage & permanence remain unsolved.
❓Should credits offset harm or simply fund nature recovery?
January 10, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Reposted by Hassan Aftab
Muhammad Suleman Ali Hamdani, Khizer Zakir, Neetu Kushwaha, Syeda Eman Fatima, Hassan Aftab Sheikh
Brick Kiln Dataset for Pakistan's IGP Region Using AI
https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.00052
Brick Kiln Dataset for Pakistan's IGP Region Using AI
https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.00052
December 3, 2024 at 5:01 AM
Muhammad Suleman Ali Hamdani, Khizer Zakir, Neetu Kushwaha, Syeda Eman Fatima, Hassan Aftab Sheikh
Brick Kiln Dataset for Pakistan's IGP Region Using AI
https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.00052
Brick Kiln Dataset for Pakistan's IGP Region Using AI
https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.00052
This is how much the $300 billion agreed in #NCQG would be worth in 2035, losing 1/3rd of its value. The adopted text should be rightly rejected by all developing states #COP29 #finance #climatefinance
November 24, 2024 at 6:45 AM
This is how much the $300 billion agreed in #NCQG would be worth in 2035, losing 1/3rd of its value. The adopted text should be rightly rejected by all developing states #COP29 #finance #climatefinance
Hi everyone!
I would love to connect with people working on the nature-climate-air pollution nexus on here.
A bit about me: I am currently a fellow in #naturefinance at @universityofoxford.bsky.social and am trained as a #geologist
Happy to connect with people with similar interests!
I would love to connect with people working on the nature-climate-air pollution nexus on here.
A bit about me: I am currently a fellow in #naturefinance at @universityofoxford.bsky.social and am trained as a #geologist
Happy to connect with people with similar interests!
November 23, 2024 at 9:08 AM
Hi everyone!
I would love to connect with people working on the nature-climate-air pollution nexus on here.
A bit about me: I am currently a fellow in #naturefinance at @universityofoxford.bsky.social and am trained as a #geologist
Happy to connect with people with similar interests!
I would love to connect with people working on the nature-climate-air pollution nexus on here.
A bit about me: I am currently a fellow in #naturefinance at @universityofoxford.bsky.social and am trained as a #geologist
Happy to connect with people with similar interests!
I write about the Nature-Climate nexus at #COP29 where a fundamental challenge facing nature finance lies in overcoming risk-related bottlenecks that deter investment.
www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/news/nature-...
www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/news/nature-...
The Nature-Climate nexus at COP29
Dr Hassan Aftab Sheikh writes on the emergence of nature finance as a critical topic in global policy discussions.
www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk
November 22, 2024 at 7:22 AM
I write about the Nature-Climate nexus at #COP29 where a fundamental challenge facing nature finance lies in overcoming risk-related bottlenecks that deter investment.
www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/news/nature-...
www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/news/nature-...
Pakistan govt has now declared a health emergency and announced a lockdown in cities of Lahore and Multan
Ad-hoc lockdowns like these shows governance failures
The question still stands: what is the govt doing to reduce pollutants from known sources?
Photo: @asssociatedpress.bsky.social
#cop29
Ad-hoc lockdowns like these shows governance failures
The question still stands: what is the govt doing to reduce pollutants from known sources?
Photo: @asssociatedpress.bsky.social
#cop29
November 15, 2024 at 12:34 PM
Pakistan govt has now declared a health emergency and announced a lockdown in cities of Lahore and Multan
Ad-hoc lockdowns like these shows governance failures
The question still stands: what is the govt doing to reduce pollutants from known sources?
Photo: @asssociatedpress.bsky.social
#cop29
Ad-hoc lockdowns like these shows governance failures
The question still stands: what is the govt doing to reduce pollutants from known sources?
Photo: @asssociatedpress.bsky.social
#cop29