We need to build a new business case for nature

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The writer is the author of ‘The Case for Nature’

Protecting nature is lovely, but climate technology is great. Learning from the success of the latter could be essential to reinforcing the former: we need to take nature out of the realm of good and place it firmly at the heart of the modern economy.

While the climate fight is far from won, there are reasons for cautious optimism. In 2022, the EU produced more wind and solar energy than gas. The US Inflation Reduction Act marked the largest climate action ever taken by the world’s largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases. Global climate pledges, including those from developing countries, have reached the point where they would keep the world well below 2°C of warming if fully implemented.

Climate investments have also weathered the overall market downturn. Last year saw a record of nearly $500 billion invested in renewable energy. There were over 1,000 growth and venture capital investments in climate startups in 2022; the number of deals grew in each quarter, with more than $40 billion deployed.

These dramatic changes in infrastructure, politics, and finance are underpinned by a subtle but powerful force: good storytelling. Weather action isn’t just fair anymore, it’s now the subject of exciting races. This is no longer a field just for engineers and scientists.

Narratives can create a virtuous circle of action. Pioneering governments and companies drove markets for low-carbon products and services; The economic rationale for climate action encouraged entrepreneurs and investors to enter a visibly thriving sector, leading to more ambitious net-zero investment and commitments.

The biodiversity crisis is just as urgent. As extinctions accelerate and habitats are lost, it’s not just plants and animals that suffer: the natural services humans depend on for survival, from fresh water to healthy soil and pollination, they are also at risk. But this other crisis doesn’t get anywhere near the level of attention that the climate gets; when you do, you’re still stuck in the old paradigm of charitable giving to protect picturesque landscapes and charismatic species. The conservation movement inspired succeeding generations, but the time has come to complement the intrinsic case for nature with an economic one.

The work has already begun: around the world, pioneers are building markets for ecosystem services like carbon and biodiversity, demonstrating that nature-positive models of food production and ecotourism can increase community income. , even that cities can save money and lives by relying on natural infrastructure like mangrove wetlands. In some places, agricultural subsidies are being reformed to encourage the recovery of nature. Businesses are discovering that nature-related risks to supply chains are all too real, and that mitigating them has measurable economic value.

This work is aided by technology. We can now measure and monitor nature, from satellite-based habitat monitoring to bioacoustics that can analyze sounds with precision that would have been unimaginable a decade or two ago. Better measurement allows companies or governments to pay for tangible results, instead of wasting money on nice projects that lack transparency.

The point here is economic logic. And while the business cases for nature aren’t as developed as those for energy, highlighting early success stories and backing them with money and sound policy could build the momentum needed for change.

It will be vital to establish safeguards so that communities continue to be the main beneficiaries of the new business models. But the successful change in the climate narrative has shown that these risks can be largely overcome. While the climate story is still being written, nature seems ripe for a reset.