Nature-positive solutions offer $10.1trn opportunity

MANAMA: Businesses can tap into a $10.1 trillion opportunity and create 395 million new jobs by 2030 with ‘nature-positive’ solutions, according to a new World Economic Forum (WEF) report

The Future of Nature and Business Report, a new study from the WEF, found that tremendous growth can be unlocked by focusing on industry actions that are nature-positive, meaning that they add value to nature.

The report is built on real-world examples where business outcomes have been improved by nature-positive outcomes.

Smart farming utilising sensors and satellite imagery in Indonesia improved crop yields on average by 60 per cent.

In Vietnam, people living in coastal communities saw their incomes more than double following the restoration of critical mangroves.

“We can address the looming biodiversity crisis and reset the economy in a way that creates and protects millions of jobs,” said Akanksha Khatri, head of the nature action agenda, WEF.

“Public calls are getting louder for businesses and government to do better. We can protect our food supplies, make better use of our infrastructure and tap into new energy sources by transitioning to nature-positive solutions.”

The report, written in collaboration with AlphaBeta, segments actions into three areas or socioeconomic systems where change can be scaled.

Food, land and ocean use: What we eat and grow makes up around $10trn of global GDP and employs up to 40pc of the global workforce. Nature-positive solutions can create 191m new jobs and $3.6trn of additional revenue or cost savings by 2030.

Infrastructure and the built-environment: About 40pc of global GDP comes from the environment we build – office buildings, homes and transport. Nature-positive solutions can create 117m new jobs and $3trn in additional revenue or cost savings by 2030.

Energy and extractives: The energy we produce and what we extract accounts for almost a quarter of global GDP and 16pc of global employment. With energy demand growing, there is an opportunity to create 87m jobs and $3.5trn in business opportunities by 2030.

A policy companion outlines how governments can complement and enable businesses to act.

Finance ministers can combine six cross-cutting policy measures to put the right incentives in place as part of stimulus packages and create jobs without destroying nature.

They include better measurement of economic performance beyond GDP, incentives for innovation, improved spatial planning and management of marine and terrestrial assets, the removal of subsidies that endanger long-term job stability, investment in reskilling, and increased financial support for natural solutions.

The companion report, written in collaboration with Systemiq, is intended to help decision makers see nature as a form of capital and, if properly managed, the basis of society’s long-term well-being, resilience and prosperity.

“Nature is critical to creating jobs, as well as supporting public health and resilience,” said Jeremy Oppenheim, founder and senior partner Systemiq.

“As finance ministers look to stimulate their economies amid the fragility exposed by Covid-19, they must seize the moment to integrate nature into fiscal policy; both supporting businesses to invest in nature-positive opportunities and making sure that we protect nature through the recovery.”

Source: http://www.gdnonline.com/Details/837805/Nature-positive-solutions-offer-$101trn-opportunity