Protecting our natural world
A threat to our global economy
Our ability to thrive depends on a world rich in biodiversity – that is the variety of animals, plants, fungi and micro-organisms around us and how they work together. Animals and plants provide humans with the building blocks for life, from fresh water to food and medicines, and studies show access to nature has incredible benefits for our mental health. Plants support us every day by cleaning the air and used correctly can help combat some of the effects of the climate crisis by reducing temperatures in the cities and towns we live in. Conserving and restoring our depleted ecosystems is critical to halting and reversing climate change.
However, human activity is leading to a rapid decline in biodiversity – through pollution, the intensification of agriculture, industrial growth and climate change. Currently, the species extinction rate is estimated between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than natural extinction rates—the rate of species extinctions that would occur if there was no impact from humans. Protecting nature and reversing biodiversity loss requires urgent action by governments, companies and individuals. The financial sector can and should play a crucial role in helping halt and reverse biodiversity loss.
At ShareAction, we campaign for a world where the financial system serves our planet and its people, and responsible investment is the norm. Improved policies and increased transparency is needed to enable better decisions to be made that consider nature, building a system that empowers companies to protect nature, rather than rewards companies that destroy it.
We are working with investors to educate them on biodiversity issues so they are better informed, can make decisions that support nature and share best practice with their peers. This includes setting out how investors should strengthen their approach when investing in or near protected areas, which are some of the world’s most important biodiversity-rich areas. We highlight the critical role investors need to play to help halt and reverse biodiversity loss and describe the practical steps they should take to incorporate protected areas into their environmental and social policies. We will continue to monitor their progress through our annual survey of the world’s largest asset managers.
Role of the financial system
Some US$44 trillion of economic value generation is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its services. That’s more than half of the world’s total GDP.
A transformation to a nature-friendly economy could create 395 million jobs and deliver US$10.1 trillion of economic value by 2030.
To reverse the decline in biodiversity by 2030, it would take US$722-967 billion each year over the next ten years. The biodiversity financing gap is at an average US$711 billion per year.
A conservative estimate of the global cost of subsidies that damage nature is about US$4tn-$6 trillion a year. Governments are exacerbating the crisis by paying people more to exploit nature than to protect it.
