This article was originally published on UN News.
This call from the Secretary-General of the United Nations mirrors the findings of the recently released Dasgupta Review, which calls for the adoption of an ‘inclusive wealth’ approach to economic planning and decision making.
A capitals approach, which recognises that our success is dependent on the value we receive from the capitals, (natural capital, social capital, human capital and produced capital) is a critical framework that can empower the global community to operationalise the recommendations set out in the Dasgupta review and in this call from the Secretary-General.
“The UN chief highlighted that the global economy increased almost fivefold in the past fifty years, but that growth was at a massive cost to the environment.
“Nature’s resources still do not figure in countries’ calculations of wealth. The current system is weighted towards destruction, not preservation”, he said.
“The bottom line … is that we need to transform how we view and value nature. We must reflect nature’s true value in all our policies, plans and economic systems”, Mr. Guterres urged, adding that by doing so, investment can be directed into actions that protect and restore nature.
“The rewards will be immense”, he said.
The call by the Secretary-General comes as countries convened at the UN Statistical Commission are set to deliberate a new statistical framework to measure economic prosperity and human well-being, which includes the contributions of nature…”
