Major summit calls for action ahead of climate talks
The degradation of the world’s natural resources must be halted if we are to stop the catastrophic effects of climate change.
That’s the message to world leader from a major summit in Edinburgh, which urged the protection of our precious natural capital.
Natural capital refers to the world’s stocks of naturally occurring assets which include rocks, soil, air, water and all living things.
It’s from natural capital that we derive a wide range of services which make human life possible, but it is rapidly being depleted and its value often remains invisible.
While non-renewable natural resources, such as fossil fuels, minerals and metals, are already accounted for in national accounts and on corporate balance sheets, renewable natural resources are not.
We need to start thinking of nature as the solution to global challenges such as climate change
The World Forum on Natural Capital, held in Scotland’s capital, gathered business leaders, policy makers, environmental experts and academics from around the globe.
Delegates signed a letter urging world leaders attending the UN Climate Conference in Paris on 7-8 December to acknowledge and address the fact that climate change cannot be tackled without halting the rapid erosion and loss of natural capital.
Signatories of the letter include Sir Richard Branson, who took part in the forum through a live link.
The First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, opened the forum and delivered the keynote address to over 500 delegates attending from 45 countries.
Jonny Hughes, chief executive of the Scottish Wildlife Trust and co-founder of the forum , said: “The forum dispels the myth that a vibrant economy and a healthy environment are somehow incompatible.
“The assets contained within the natural world are the very foundation of our economic wealth. When we erode our soils, pollute our waters, cause species extinctions and change our atmosphere with greenhouse gases, we directly threaten our economic prosperity.
“We need to start thinking of nature as the solution to global challenges such as climate change, extreme weather events, pollution and novel diseases. For this we need a new type of economics.
The theme for the two-day event was “solutions for a changing world”, focussing on helping business and sustainability leaders identify the economic importance of protecting and restoring our natural environment.
The letter signed by the delegates to world leaders can be read below.
Letter to world leaders
Dear global leaders,
What if history looked back on 2015 as the year when humankindfinally redefined its relationship with the natural world? In September, we sawthe launch of the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development and,as we issue this message, we are now only days away from the long-awaited UNClimate Summit in Paris. It is to the world leaders making the deals anddecisions in Paris to which this letter is addressed.
We represent a group of leaders from business, government, science and civil society who see the urgent need for changing our relationship with the way we value nature. Natural capital – our biodiversity, air, water,
soil and minerals – is our life support system. Everyone depends on it and everyone benefits from it.
Soils, wetlands, forests and oceans provide a host of services,including the maintenance of air quality, the regulation of the water cycle andthe capture and storage of vast quantities of carbon. Biodiversity is vital toour resilience in the face of increasingly unpredictable weather patterns.
However, over the past 50 years, humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable period of time in human history. Species are becoming extinct 1,000 times faster than the natural
or background rate due to human activity. It is now clear that, in addition to urgently reducing greenhouse gas emissions primarily associated with the burning of fossil fuels, it is essential to conserve the Earth’s stock of
natural capital and reverse biodiversity loss. It is only by doing both that we will truly tackle climate change.
As the World Forum on Natural Capital takes place in Edinburgh, we are issuing this simple message: the climate crisis cannot be solved without halting the rapid erosion and loss of natural capital.
We call on all global leaders to:
1. Commit to safeguarding our natural capital to prevent any further loss, as part of a worldwide effort to lock away carbon and increase resilience to climate change impacts
2. Commit to the mass restoration of natural ecosystems
3. Recognise that the social, economic and ecological benefits of securing healthy, global stocks of natural capital will hugely outweigh any costs of conservation and restoration
We urge you to make the right decisions in Paris. We urge you to make the right investment for our future.
