Pavan Sukhdev: Put a value on nature!

TED・2 minutes read

The TEEB project highlights the economic invisibility of nature, revealing significant losses in natural capital and the impacts on ecosystem services, biodiversity, and human health. Initiatives like WAVES and companies like PUMA show the importance of recognizing and measuring externalities, while the creation of green carbon markets can pave the way for a more sustainable business environment and help address issues like deforestation and coral reef degradation.

Insights

  • The TEEB project highlighted the economic invisibility of nature, revealing a loss of natural capital valued at trillions of dollars, impacting vital ecosystem services and human health significantly.
  • Recognizing and valuing natural capital is crucial for sustainability, as demonstrated by initiatives like WAVES and the need for companies to measure and disclose their externalities, setting a transparency and accountability example for a more sustainable business environment.

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Recent questions

  • What is the TEEB project?

    The TEEB project, initiated in 2007, aims to address the economic invisibility of nature inspired by Lord Stern's stern review.

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Summary

00:00

"Nature's Economic Invisibility: A Global Concern"

  • The TEEB project, initiated in 2007 by environment ministers of the G8+5, aimed to address the economic invisibility of nature inspired by Lord Stern's stern review.
  • The project revealed a significant loss of natural capital, valued at two to four trillion dollars, comparable to the financial capital lost during the banking crisis.
  • Nature's economic invisibility poses a threat as vital ecosystem services like the Amazon rainforest's rain production remain unpaid for, impacting economies significantly.
  • The economic invisibility extends to various levels, from ecosystem services like flood prevention to species-level benefits like insect pollination, valued at 190 billion dollars.
  • The depletion of ocean fisheries affects a billion people dependent on fish for animal protein, highlighting the human health consequences of nature's degradation.
  • Poor communities heavily rely on ecosystem services, with estimates showing their worth to countries like Brazil, India, and Indonesia ranging from 45 to 90 percent of GDP.
  • The mean species abundance illustrates the global decline in biodiversity due to unsustainable consumption, emphasizing the urgent need to address the public benefits versus private profits dilemma.
  • Recognizing natural capital's value is crucial, as demonstrated by projects like WAVES and TEEB's calculations for deforestation in China, revealing the true costs and impacts on society.
  • Companies like PUMA have taken the lead in measuring and disclosing their externalities, setting an example for transparency and accountability in business practices.
  • The creation of green carbon markets and engaging sectors in measuring and disclosing their impacts can pave the way for a more sustainable and accountable business environment.

13:15

"Green Carbon Markets and Coral Reef Survival"

  • Green carbon markets involve solutions like protected area evaluation, payments for ecosystem services, and eco-certification. The current carbon marketplace mainly focuses on energy emissions, with the European Union ETS being the primary platform, although it is struggling due to over-issuance leading to declining prices. However, there are other emissions like black carbon and blue carbon, the latter being the largest carbon store. Blue carbon, along with green carbon from deforestation and agricultural emissions, accounts for 25% of total emissions. REDD Plus, a mechanism for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, has already seen investments from countries like Norway in Indonesia and Brazil, showing progress in addressing these issues.
  • Coral reefs, crucial for the food and livelihood of over half a billion people globally, are at risk due to rising carbon dioxide levels. Any atmospheric CO2 level above 350 parts per million poses a threat to coral reefs, risking the extinction of coral species and a quarter of all fish species. The ethical choice made in climate negotiations to target 450 parts per million and two degrees has implications for the survival of coral reefs and the lives of millions in developing countries. The speaker emphasizes the need to reconsider such choices to preserve nature's ecological infrastructure and natural capital.
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