Breaking: The Dasgupta Review Confirms Nature Must Be a Part of The Economy
For a long time, Nature has mostly been valued as raw materials.
Yet, we rely on Nature to:
- provide us with food, water, and shelter
- regulate climate and disease
- maintain nutrient cycles and oxygen production
- sequester greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide
- enhance our health and well-being
All countries rely heavily on Nature for goods and services.
Yet, humankind is continuously
❗️ exploiting more natural resources than Nature has the ability to supply
❗️ destroying Nature all over the world and taking it for granted
‘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’ states The Dasgupta review.
It’s time to make a change. Now.
Keep reading to find out:
- What is the Dasgupta review?
- What happens when we continue ‘business as usual’ aka destroying Nature?
- What are the 3 key points from the Dasgupta review?
- What’s the ‘Impact Inequality’?
- How is Single.Earth saving the natural world?
What is the Dasgupta review?
The Dasgupta review is – you guessed it – a review about how humankind values, uses, and interacts with Nature. In addition to that, it highlights the flaws in the relationship between Nature and economy in today’s society, and what should be done about it.
In 2019, the UK government commissioned Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta to lead an independent, global review on the economics of biodiversity.
‘The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review’ came out at the start of 2021.
Why is the Dasgupta review so important?
Even though all the information in the review isn’t breaking or even new, it is a crucial document bringing all this information together into one place.
In addition, it does give clear examples of how humankind is failing in protecting and saving the environment.
The Dasgupta review claims ‘Nature’s value must be at the heart of economics’ and Single.Earth agrees to that.
What happens if ‘business as usual’ continues and the attitude towards nature isn’t changed?
‘Our unsustainable engagement with Nature is endangering the prosperity of current and future generations.’ says the review.
Just some of the examples of what our current relationship with Nature has led to:
- Biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history. Current extinction rates are approximately 100 to 1000 times higher than the baseline rate. And they’re still increasing.
- COVID-19 is just the start and other emerging infectious diseases will follow.
- Ecosystems that are crucial for humans to survive are already degraded beyond repair or very close to it. This includes rainforests and coral reefs.
‘Reversing these trends requires action now’ is the clear message from the review.
By 2050 it is thought the human population will reach 10 billion, which means we need to make changes. And fast.
What are the 3 key points from the Dasgupta review?
“The solution starts with understanding and accepting a simple truth: our economies are embedded within Nature, not external to it.” says the review.
The 3 key points are:
- 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.
Worldwide climate conferences like COP15 and COP26 are a start, but this is not the time to hope governments, entities, and companies are doing enough. That is, we can’t hope for that anymore.
Halting climate change is now on everyone’s shoulders.
Now is the time for solutions with tangible impact.
Dasgupta mentions the ‘Impact Inequality’, why is that important?
The gap between the global ecological footprint and the biosphere’s regenerative rate is called Impact Inequality.
Easily put: How much natural resources humankind uses is higher than Nature’s ability to regenerate = that's the Impact Inequality.
And actually, there are 4 ways humanity can (and should!) already transform the Impact Inequality into the Impact Equality:
- reduce per capita global consumption
- lower future global population from what it is today
- increase the efficiency with which the biosphere’s supply of goods and services are converted into global output and returned to the biosphere as waste
- invest in Nature through conservation and restoration to increase our stock of Nature and its regenerative rate
The fourth, possibly the most crucial point, carries us perfectly into the next chapter.
How is Single.Earth saving the natural world?
Nature is in some cases already valued just for being there, for example in natural reserves.
However, because of Single.Earth:
- For the first time, the ecological value of Nature will be considered as an actual player of our world, not a passive element.
- Nature will be valued and protected as fast and as strongly as possible, thanks to new powerful leverages.
Single.Earth is a platform that tokenizes Nature for its ecological value: carbon sequestration, storage, and biodiversity.
Nature is monetized for just being there, keeping ecosystems alive. Doing what it does best.
The review also says it’s less costly to conserve Nature than it is to restore it – and that is exactly what Single.Earth is doing.
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Single.Earth is growing fast to tackle the two biggest existential risks we are facing as humankind - climate change and biodiversity loss.
You have the chance to join us and save the world: check out open positions at Single.Earth.
All stats, if not stated otherwise, are from The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review.
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