Nature Transition Pathways: To protect GDP and meet environmental targets
Declining biodiversity and weakened ecosystems are not just environmental concerns; they are economic risks. Recent studies have begun to convey these potential impacts with experts warning that without urgent action from the private sector, the UK for instance faces a nearly 5% loss in GDP due to the ongoing degradation of nature. However, a recent article in the Guardian presents a tool to offer businesses a roadmap to align profit with planetary health, to link ecological responsibility and economic opportunity, known as nature-positive transition pathways (NPPs).
How can we grow sustainably while protecting the natural systems we depend on? This is a question that businesses and governments alike are asking. In a new report, the Green Finance Institute (GPI) and the WWF draw attention to the potential of NPPs, as structured strategies that can guide companies in meeting measurable targets for environmental improvement. With government support, NPPs can provide businesses across all sectors with the clarity, tools, and incentives to invest in nature. This recent article highlights how NPPs aren’t just about meeting environmental targets in the UK. If embraced, they help to build economic resilience, unlock growth opportunities in regenerative agriculture, construction, and clean manufacturing, and improve public health and wellbeing by creating healthier ecosystems.
There are 40 real-world examples of NPPs in action and 28 companies already on board to date, according to the GPI and WWF report, and this is (hopefully) just the beginning. For the UK and globally, in order to avoid the devastating cross-sectoral costs of nature loss and instead harness the benefits of a regenerative economy, more businesses must step up and clearer government guidance is needed. The article presents a choice: ignore nature loss and experience economic decline, or adopt nature-positive transition pathways and enable business growth and ecological recovery.
Written by Sabrina Careri, for Ann Dale.
Photo credit: Rick Vanderhan | Unsplash