By Sumeet Moghe [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons
This article was originally published on Natural Capital Summit.
“The second edition of the Spanish-speaking reference event on natural capital, the Natural Capital Summit 2018, took place in Barcelona on June 13 and 14. Co-organized by Ecoacsa and Fundación Empresa y Clima, the congress was attended by about 200 representatives of governments, international organizations and experts from academia, finance, business and the third sector who have shown examples of on-the-ground natural capital evaluation and accounting projects from different sectors, such as agri-food, construction and infrastructure, energy, finance, extractive and processing industries.
These cases have served as a reference on how natural capital approaches are driving progress towards more sustainable and circular economic and social models, aligned with global commitments, by integrating the value of ecosystem resources and services into decision-making.
Those attending the congress at CosmoCaixa Barcelona have had the opportunity to know business strategies and policies that put nature at the center of decision-making, which results not only on environmental benefits, but also social and economic benefits.
…The financial sector is being especially active this year promoting greater consideration of environmental aspects by companies and reorienting investment flows towards sustainable projects. With this approach, financial institutions aim to support the transition to a more circular and efficient economy in the use of resources. This growing interest is due in large part to the publication of the recommendations of European Commission´s High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance, the Directive on non-financial and diversity information and the recent launch of the Financial Supplement to the Natural Capital Protocol by the Natural Capital Coalition: Connecting finance with natural capital.
On the other hand, directors and public figures who have been part of the program of the event have also emphasized how useful natural capital approaches are when it comes to help advance in the achievement of the ambitious challenges committed globally. Among them, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, the Aichi Targets and other commitments signed to tackle biodiversity loss, ecosystem services depletion and climate change. To address them in all their dimensions and at the required scale necessarily does involve a change of thinking, a considerable degree of engagement and collaboration between social and economic agents and a greater knowledge, understanding and connection of our relationship with nature. It is precisely these aspects which natural capital approaches encourage…”
Read on at: Natural Capital Summit.
