- Landmark review underway to support biodiversity
and economy
- Sir David Attenborough agrees to be review’s
ambassador
- Experts and business urged to come forward with
evidence to help balance both priorities
A review into the economics of biodiversity got
underway today (16 September 2019), as Sir David
Attenborough was unveiled as its ambassador.
The Chancellor addressed the
review’s inaugural meeting at HM Treasury this morning
– underlining the importance of this work to help
preserving the planet, while protecting the UK and
global economy.
Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta is leading the
independent global review, which seeks to:
- assess the economic benefits of biodiversity
globally
- assess the economic costs and risks of biodiversity
loss
- and identify a range of actions that can enhance
biodiversity while delivering economic prosperity
The review, commissioned by HM Treasury in March 2019,
further demonstrates the UK’s position at the forefront
of environmental protection and comes just months after
it became the first nation to legally commit to
net-zero emissions by 2050. It will report ahead of the
UN’s biodiversity conference (15th Conference of the
Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity)
taking place in October 2020, in China.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, , said:
We’re determined to leave the environment in a better
state than we found it for future generations.
Protecting nature’s biodiversity has both
environmental and economic benefits.
That’s why we asked Professor Dasgupta to carry out
the first review of its kind into this area, and I’m
delighted Sir David Attenborough has agreed to be an
Ambassador.
Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta, leading the review,
said:
Biodiversity is at the heart of our way of life –
therefore it is vital we preserve it for generations
to come. By placing an economic value on the benefits
of biodiversity we will be able to prevent its demise
– which is a win-win for our future generations and
economies.
I look forward to working with this esteemed panel of
experts who bring valued insights and challenge to
help meet our objectives in this review.
This follows the Prime Minister’s message at the G7
Summit, in August, that biodiversity and climate change
must be addressed in tandem to protect the planet.
Ministers are expected to attend various sessions on
combating climate change and protecting biodiversity
and the environment at the UN General Assembly next
week.
The natural environment is said to be worth trillions
of pounds to the global economy, including through
pollination, natural flood defences, water resources
and clean air. But without the necessary evidence-base,
it is difficult for governments across the world to
design policies that take this into account. This
review will seek to address that.
Advisory panel members:
-
(Panel
Chair) – Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury
- Inger Anderson – Executive Director, United Nations
Environment Programme
- Juan Pablo Bonilla – Manager of the Climate Change
and Sustainable Development Sector, Inter-American
Development Bank
- Sir Ian Cheshire – Chair, Barclays Bank UK PLC
- Dominic Christian – Global Chairman for Reinsurance
Solutions, Aon
- Sir Roger Gifford – Chair, Green Finance Taskforce
- Professor Cameron Hepburn – Professor of
Environmental Economics, Oxford Martin School
- Professor Justin Lin – Director of New Structural
Economics, National School of Development, Peking
University
- Professor Georgina Mace – Professor of Biodiversity
and Ecosystems, University College London
- Professor Henrietta Moore – Director of the
Institute for Global Prosperity and Chair in Culture,
Philosophy and Design, University College London
- Professor Cosmas Ochieng – Director, African
Development Bank
- Sonia Phippard* – Director General for Environment,
Rural and Marine, Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs
- Dame Fiona Reynolds – Master of Emmanuel College,
Cambridge University
- Charles Roxburgh* – Second Permanent Secretary, HM
Treasury
- Lord Nicholas Stern – Professor Economics and
Government, and Chair of the Grantham Research
Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London
School of Economics
- Kristian Teleki – Director of Sustainable Ocean
Initiative, World Resources Initiative
- Professor Sir – Director
of Strategic Development, Tyndall Centre for Climate
Change Research, University of East Anglia
- Kate Wylie – Global Vice President of
Sustainability, Mars
