The Government has published the Final Report of the Independent Review on the Economics of Biodiversity led by Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta, which it commissioned in Spring 2019.
This enormously important report brings together an understanding of ecosystem process and economic activity, and suggests that we must adopt a more sustainable lead approach by altering how we think, act and measure economic success to protect and enhance our prosperity and the natural world. The framework sets out recommendations for how we should account for the natural environmental in economics and decision making. Grounded in a deep understanding of ecosystem processes and how they are affected by economic activity, the new framework presented by the Review sets out how we should account for Nature in economics and decision-making.
The Full report and its appendices total 600+ pages, however a 100 page abridged version along with headline messages have also been published.
Key Messages:
- Our economies, livelihoods and well-being all depend on our most precious asset: Nature.
- We have collectively failed to engage with Nature sustainably, to the extent that our demands far exceed its capacity to supply us with the goods and services we all rely on.
- Our unsustainable engagement with Nature is endangering the prosperity of current and future generations.
- At the heart of the problem lies deep-rooted, widespread institutional failure.
- The solution starts with understanding and accepting a simple truth: our economies are embedded within Nature, not external to it.
- We need to change how we think, act and measure success.
- Ensure that our demands on Nature do not exceed its supply, and that we increase Nature’s supply relative to its current level.
- Change our measures of economic success to guide us on a more sustainable path.
- Transform our institutions and systems – in particular our finance and education systems – to enable these changes and sustain them for future generations.
- Transformative change is possible – we and our descendants deserve nothing less.