Transform economics to halt destruction of the natural world, UK study urges
LONDON (Reuters) - Nations will have to rethink economic growth as a measure of success if they want to make good on pledges to halt the destruction of the natural world, according to a British government-backed report published on Tuesday.
With countries due to meet in China this year to agree on a new global biodiversity accord, studies have sought to underscore the financial benefits of preserving forests, oceans and other species-rich habitats.
The authors of the latest review, commissioned by Britain’s finance ministry in March, 2019, hope its official status will lend extra weight to their calls to place ecosystems at the centre of economic decision-making.
“Nature is our home,” said Partha Dasgupta, an economist at the University of Cambridge who led the study. “Good economics demands we manage it better.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose government hosts a climate change summit in November, welcomed the findings.
“This year is critical in determining whether we can stop and reverse the concerning trend of fast-declining biodiversity,” Johnson said.
In a wide-ranging critique of conventional economics, the 602-page report urges policy-makers to accept that all business activity is “embedded” within nature, and to begin to value ecosystems accordingly.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-biodiversity-economy-report/transform-economics-to-halt-destruction-of-the-natural-world-uk-study-urges-idUSKBN2A200S
The Brits seem awfully keen on having the whole world lower its living standards after having blown through all their own coal, iron ore, and crude oil reserves.
