TEEB in the News

TEEB Advisory Board member appointed Chairman of the Global Reporting Initiative

TEEB Advisory Board member, Sustainability leader and Worldconnector Herman Mulder has been appointed Chairman of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)’s Board of Directors.

Herman Mulder is a member of the board of the Dutch National Contact Point (NCP) of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. Mulder is a former senior executive vice-president at ABN AMRO, and is now an independent board member with a focus on sustainable development issues.

Mulder said of the appointment: “I am very honored and excited to be Chairman of the Global Reporting Initiative. We are witnessing a turning point for sustainability reporting, as it moves from an experimental pursuit to a mainstream practice. I look forward to leading GRI as it helps make sustainability reporting standard practice worldwide.”

Mulder also worked in the field of livelihood development finance in India and Brazil, where he gained insights into the global value chain and the positive effects companies can have on people living in lower income countries. He explained, “I learnt how interconnected the world really is – from the farmers in Brazil to the coffee in your cup. It’s important to know our own value chain and recognize that imbalances can be a major issue.”

“One of the lessons of the financial crisis is that we need much better transparency on more risks and opportunities,” added Mulder. “This is a global imperative. Governments, stock exchanges and investors should adopt a report or explain approach to policy, encouraging more organizations to report their performance. Notwithstanding recent significant progress in sustainability reporting using GRI’s Guidelines, many more companies should adopt advanced disclosure practices, addressing risks, opportunities, dependencies and impacts in their entire value chain. Moreover, investors should recognize that such disclosure is essential for them too: ‘use or loose’.”

Mulder was appointed Vice-Chairman following the departure of Professor Mervyn King in October 2011, and has been Acting Chairman in the interim period. The Board of Directors resolved to appoint Mulder Chairman during their meeting on Friday 25 November 2011.

GRI’s Board of Directors appointed Anita Normark as Vice-Chairman of the Board during the same meeting. Normark was General Secretary of the Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) from 2001 to 2009, and before that General Secretary of the Nordic Federation of Building and Woodworkers for 15 years. Working closely with the ILO, the focus of the BWI has been to implement globally recognized labor standards, and to promote sustainable development in the construction and wood and forestry sectors. Normark continues to promote sustainable construction developments as a consultant.

On 6 October 2011, Professor Mervyn King was awarded the title of Honorary Chairman of GRI, after almost five years serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Professor King moved on to take up the position of Chairman of the International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC) on 1 October 2011.

www.globalreporting.org

Board appointments help Study Leader to further the outreach and uptake of the economics of ecosystems and biodiversity

Pavan Sukhdev, Founder and Chair of GIST Advisory and study leader of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) report, joined Conservation International's Board of Directors in March, 2011. Sukhdev joins a highly talented and respected team with a diversity of expertise that enhances the organization's guiding principles and mission. Conservation International is a global environmental organization, working to ensure a healthy and productive planet for us all. Founded in 1987, it has headquarters in the Washington, DC area, and nearly 900 employees working in more than 30 countries on four continents, plus over 1,000 partners around the world. Conservation International's Board was delighted to have Pavan Sukhdev accept the nomination because of his extensive knowledge and experience on green economies and the valuation of ecosystem services, which will contribute greatly to CI's pursuit of helping governments and corporations discover, value and manage their impacts on natural and human capital and how each contributes to human well being.

Earlier this year Pavan Sukhdev was also appointed to the Board of the Stockholm Resilience Centre. The Stockholm Resilience Centre is an international centre that advances transdisciplinary research for governance of social-ecological systems with a special emphasis on resilience - the ability to deal with change and continue to develop.

www.conservation.org
www.stockholmresilience.org

Pavan Sukhdev receives IEEM Institute Medal for his contribution to economic valuation of the environment

June 2011- In a special ceremony at the House Of Lords on 29 June, Pavan Sukhdev, who led the ground breaking study into the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) was awarded the Institute of Ecology and Environmental management (IEEM) Institute Medal in recognition of his distinguished contribution to the economic valuation of the natural environment...

Read More: Click here

Q Finance - Why the World needs a Green New Deal

June 2010 - Some time during 2009 or 2010, trillions of dollars of private investment are going to flood back into the global markets. Indeed, they may already have started to do so.The question is whether these investments are going to go into the old, brown economy of the 19th and 20th centuries or into the new, green one that will pave the way for the resource-efficient, innovative, and employment-orientated economy that the world so urgently needs in the 21st century....

The Guardian - Biodiversity protection can help tackle climate change and poverty

June 10 - Opinion piece by Pavan Sukhdev. Climate change and ecological scarcity are vital risks to be addressed for development to succeed in poor countries...

Read More: www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2010/jun/10/biodiversity-climate-change-poverty

Veja - Matar a Natureza é matar o lucro

June - feature article

Read More: Full article here

Ambienta - TEEB - la economic a des los ecosistemas y la biodiversidad: porque no podemos arriesgarnosa considerar la naturaleza como algo garantizado

June - feature article

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UN Study backs economic changes to save natural world

A key UN report on biodiversity will recommend massive economic changes like company fines to help save species and protect the natural world, The Guardian reported here on Saturday.

Read More: http://www.tehrantimes.com

TEEB for Business to be launched at major new Global Business of Biodiversity Symposium

The TEEB for Business report will be launched on 13 July at the world's largest private sector focused biodiversity confence and exhibition taking place in London. Entitled 'The first Global Business of Biodiversity Symposium' , the conference is partnered by Defra, the European Commission, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, TEEB and the International Year of Biodiversity. The conference will place the spotlight on the growing awareness of the direct links between business and biodiversity and help business understand the economics of Nature and its impacts and opportunities for business. A number of high level speakers are confirmed for the conference and more details can be found at the link below.

Read More: www.businessofbiodiversity.co.uk/

Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India inaugurates TEEB workshop in Mumbai

April 13 - Mrs Usha Thorat, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India inaugurated a TEEB workshop that was organised by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mumbai, the Conservation Action Trust (CAT), the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and the Green India States Trust (GIST). In her speech she highlighted that "the ongoing challenge to prescribing a value to Nature is critical in how we recognize and manage the environment, social responsibility, business opportunities, and our future as a species.'' For the full speech click on the link below.

Read More: http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_SpeechesView.aspx?Id=499

Finance Business Articles - Study shows investing in Nature more valuable than gold

A Valuable Investment: Preserving Ecosystem Services. The BBC reports that this is the first such comprehensive study aimed at evaluating what they term "ecosystem services", or the "things that parts of the natural world do for free, such as purifying drinking water or protecting coasts from storms - on a systematic and global basis."

Read More: finance2business.com/finance-articles/study-shows-investing-in-nature-more-valuable-than-gold/

BBC News - What is the cost of Nature?

You pull into the petrol station to fill up, buy some cigarettes and a few beers. On all three you will pay far more than they cost to produce and distribute. The tax on them is justified by the other costs they put on you and society as a whole.But relatively few things we buy have these social and environmental costs built into them.

COP15 Copenhagen - Study: Accelerate, scale-up and embed investments in ecosystems – now

Replanting forests, restoring mangroves along coastlines and rebuilding coral reefs are economically sound investments and smart ways of adapting to climate change.

ENDS Europe - Dimas calls for biodiversity agreement at Copenhagen

EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas called for an agreement on reducing tropical deforestation at next month’s Copenhagen climate conference on Friday, to halt the world's "sixth great extinction".

Read More: http://www.endseurope.com/22615

Die Zeit - Milliarden-Subventionen schaden der Umwelt

Weltweit fließen jedes Jahr Milliarden Euro an Subventionen. Ein Bericht des UN-Umweltprogramms weist nun darauf hin, dass das Geld zur Zerstörung der Natur beiträgt.

SZOnline.de - Studie: Subvention zerstört die Umwelt

Brüssel/Leipzig. Weltweit werden jedes Jahr Milliarden für die Zerstörung der Umwelt ausgegeben, kritisiert ein Bericht des Uno-Umweltprogramms, der am Freitag in Brüssel vorgestellt wurde.

Ziare.com - Protejarea naturii aduce profituri neasteptat de mari

Banii investiti in protectia naturii pot aduce uriase profituri financiare, potrivit unui studiu cu privire la costurile si beneficiile ecologiei.

Seoul News - 자연보호 돈되네

Yonhap News Korea - <환경> 자연보호 사업 수익성 높다

SDP Noticias.com - Destaca CE beneficios económicos por preservar la naturaleza

Bruselas, 13 Nov (Notimex).- La Comisión Europea (CE) destacó hoy aquí los beneficios económicos y sociales para la humanidad que trae consigo la preservación de los ecosistemas.

Europolitics - Healthy Biodiversity key to sustainable economy

Nature provides numerous services for free, like water regulation, flood protection and carbon storage. But growing pressure on ecosystems is putting a lot of these services at risk and while technological solutions can replace some of them, the cost is generally high.

BBC Mundo - Ser ecológico da dinero

El dinero invertido en proteger la naturaleza puede reportar grandes ganancias económicas, según una investigación a fondo sobre los costos y los beneficios del mundo natural.

BBC - Big profit from nature protection

Money invested in protecting nature can bring huge financial returns, according to a major investigation into the costs and benefits of the natural world.

Stern - Milliarden-Subventionen zerstören Umwelt

Die Welt gibt jedes Jahr Milliarden Euro für die Zerstörung der Umwelt aus. Das kritisiert ein Bericht, der vom UN-Umweltprogramm UNEP organisiert und am Freitag in Brüssel vorgestellt wurde.

Christian Science Monitor - The economics of ecosystems

On Friday, the United Nations Environment Program released The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity report for Policymakers.

EurekAlert - Economists fail to account for ‘natural capital’ – report

Brussels, 13 November 2009 – Policy makers who factor the planet's multi-trillion dollar ecosystem services into their national and international investment.

WWF - Economists fail to account for ‘natural capital’ – report

Gland, Switzerland: Many economists are failing to assess the value of their countries’ natural resources, putting billion’s of people’s well-being at risk and contributing to catastrophic species loss, according to a new United Nations Environment Programme report.

El Financerio en linea - Conservar los ecosistemas es más rentable que reparar los daños: CE

Bruselas, 13 de noviembre.- La Comisión Europea aseguró hoy que invertir en la conservación y mantenimiento de los ecosistemas resulta mucho más rentable que reparar los daños de una mala gestión y afirmó que es una buena vía para combatir el cambio climático y reducir su impacto económico en los países más pobres.

Himalayan Times - Invest in nature now, save trillions later: study

PARIS: Investing billions today to protect threatened ecosystems and dwindling biodiversity would reap trillions in savings over the long haul, according to a UN-backed report issued Friday.

Der Spiegel - So lohnt sich der Naturschutz

Die Zerstörung der Natur und das Artensterben sind nicht nur ein ökologisches Drama, sondern auch ein ökonomisches. Wissenschaftler und Wirtschaftsexperten haben nun einen Report erarbeitet, in dem sie die drängendsten Probleme nennen - und zeigen, wie sich Umweltschutz auch wirtschaftlich lohnt.

Reuters - Investment in ecosystems will reap rewards, UNEP study

LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Nations that take into account natural resources in their investment strategies will have higher rates of return and stronger economies, a report backed by the United Nations' Environment Programme said on Friday.

New York Times - Banker seeks to put a price on Nature

According to Pavan Sukhdev, a banker working with the United Nations Environment Program, putting a price on the world’s trees, water stores and other natural resources will be the most cost-effective way of tackling the challenges posed by climate change — at least until cleaner energy technologies become available.

Newsweek - Environmental Economics: think a tree is just a tree? Think again

With its legs buried underwater, the mangrove is a case study in evolutionary biology.

The Ecologist - Biodiversity 'invisible' in current economic model

LONDON, Nov 13 - The steady loss of forests, soils, wetlands, fisheries, species and coral reefs around the world is closely tied to the lack of value we put on nature, says three-year study

EU Observer - EU study explores economic impact of 'great extinction'

OBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Global policy makers could ultimately save more money if they step up investments to protect the Earth's biodiversity, according to a new report published on Friday (13 November).

Vancouver Sun - Protecting Biodiversity UN says, Canada has a lot to gain by protecting its fish stock and boreal forests, report says

Protecting natural ecosystems and biodiversity is worth trillions of dollars in annual economic benefits around the planet, says a new report released on Friday.

AFP - Invest in Nature now, save trillions later: study

PARIS — Investing billions today to protect threatened ecosystems and dwindling biodiversity would reap trillions in savings over the long haul, according to a UN-backed report issued Friday.

News 24 - Humans 'wiping out capital'

Cape Town - The world was losing as much potential capital annually through the destruction of forests as was wiped off the major markets in last year's financial crisis, an economist warned on Friday.

Reuters - Reef Ecosystem Services Worth Up To $1.2M Annually - Report

Cape Town - Experts concluding the global DIVERSITAS biodiversity conference today in Cape Town described preliminary research revealing jaw-dropping dollar values of the "ecosystem services" of biomes like forests and coral reefs--including food, pollution treatment and climate regulation.

DNA India - GDP should also include ecosystem cost: Ramesh

There is a need to include the improvement or damage to a country's ecosystem in computing gross domestic product (GDP), Jairam Ramesh, minister of state for environment and forests, said on Tuesday.

BBC - Climate targets 'will kill coral'

Current climate targets are not enough to save the world's coral reefs - and policymakers urgently need to consider the economic benefits they bring.

Reuters - Save forests, wetlands to fight climate change: study

Governments can help combat climate change by investing more in natural areas, including forests and mangroves, a European study said on Wednesday.

Ends Europe - Call for deal on funding for forest protection

Agreeing on funding mechanisms for forest protection must be a priority for governments meeting at the UN's climate change summit in December, according to the authors of a study on the economics of biodiversity presented in Berlin on Wednesday.

Read More: www.endseurope.com/22043

Bloomberg - Great Barrier Reef Said to Face Catastrophic Damage

Catastrophic damage to the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s most extensive bank of coral and a magnet for skin divers, may be unavoidable if global warming continues unchecked, Australian officials said.

Tagesspiegel - Korallen statt Staumauern

Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) versteht die „Inwertsetzung der Natur“ als Gegenkonzept zur „Geringschätzung der Zukunft“

Financial Express, India - Forestry funding-key point in UN talk

India’s case for including afforestation and reforestation in the global climate change negotiations has got strengthened

The Encyclopedia of Earth - Herman Daly Festschrift: Socially Sustainable Economic Degrowth

The economic crisis of 2008-09 affords an opportunity to put the economy of the rich countries on a different trajectory as regards material and energy flows. Before 2008, world carbon dioxide emissions were growing by 3 per cent per year, we would have reached 450 ppm in 30 years.

The Economist - Growing on trees

A MOST unusual document landed on your correspondent’s desk recently: a financial report from a rainforest. Iwokrama, a 370,000-hectare rainforest in central Guyana, announced that it was in profit.

IPS News - BIODIVERSITY-EUROPE: Not Just About a Frog Here or There

This change in attitude comes after a study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found that 59 percent of European amphibians and 42 percent of reptiles are in decline. A significant number of these are now on the European Red List, a table of species considered to be under severe threat of extinction.

Doors of Perception - "Metrics and Aesthetics",

These are my principles. If you don’t like them, I have others”. Groucho Marx could also have been talking about environmental standards. Our world is awash in eco information, but starved of meaning. Hundreds of organisations churn out a flood of reports, graphs, studies, punditry – and lists.

2008 Coverage

The Guardian - Analysis: What would the bank-bail out money buy for the environment?

Countries could protect nature, help halt climate change, and provide food and clean water for a billion people for little more than has been pledged to bail out the world's banks in the last week, according to a series of authoritative economic reports from the UN, world bodies, major charities and banks.

Taipei Times - Credit crunch? Time to fix the nature crunch

This is nothing. Well, nothing by comparison to what’s coming. The financial crisis for which we must now pay so heavily prefigures the real collapse, when humanity bumps against its ecological limits.

Environmental News Service - Millions in Conservation Investments Offered at IUCN Congress

"Absolutely everyone now agrees that we can't postpone decisive action if we are to avoid major disruptions in all spheres of human and natural activities," said Julia Marton-Lefèvre, director general of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. "Business as usual is simply not an option."

BBC - Nature loss 'dwarfs bank crisis'

It puts the annual cost of forest loss at between $2 trillion and $5 trillion. The figure comes from adding the value of the various services that forests perform, such as providing clean water and absorbing carbon dioxide.

IPS News - ENVIRONMENT: Twisted As Unnaturally as the Banks

"Right now, the most conservative leaders in the industrialised world, such as George W. Bush of the U.S. and Angela Merkel of Germany are allocating public money to save the banks from bankruptcy," Alejandro Nadal, a Mexican economist attending the congress told IPS.

The Financial Express - Cleantech is a business solution to environmental problems

There is a business case for deploying clean technologies in India to fight climate change. It calls for appropriate policies, technologies and finances, though.

Economixt - The Crisis of Ecological Economics at this Time of Global Economic Uncertainty

I was listening to a keynote speech at the biannual conference for the USSEE this morning titled, The Crisis of Ecological Economics at this Time of Global Economic Uncertainty presented by Pavan Sukhdev, TEEB Study Leader.

Exchange Magazine - Ecosystem Damage Costs Trillions Per Year: Study

“Environmental damage and species loss costs $2.1 to $4.8 trillion every year, according to a report released Thursday at a major UN conference on biodiversity.

New Zealand Herald - Extinctions hurt world's poorest most

Mass extinctions of plants and animals could have a severe effect on the living standards of the poorest people on the planet and cost up to $100 billion a year, the first major report into the economic impact of biodiversity loss has found.

e Sciences - The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity – TEEB

At CBD COP 9 today, 29th May, a report setting out a "comprehensive and compelling economic case for the conservation of biodiversity" was presented by the report's author Mr. Pavan Sukhdev.

The Independent - Loss of biodiversity threatens livelihoods of world's poorest

Mass extinctions of plants and animals could have a severe impact on the living standards of the poorest people on the planet and cost up to £40bn a year, the first major report into the economic impact of biodiversity loss has found.

Spiegel - The Value of Nature

How much money is nature worth? It's a question that economists and environmentalists have been pondering for decades in a bid to leverage market mechanisms to protect the environment.

Environmental News Service - World Leaders Commit to Conserve Diversity of Life on Earth

Heads of state and 87 ministers from around the world have reinforced their commitment to "substantially reduce" the global loss of biodiversity within two years. The European Commission is committed to stopping the loss of biodiversity in Europe by 2010.

Science Daily - What Is The Value Of Biodiversity To Our Collective Future?

The pilot study led by Pavan Sukhdev, who is head of Deutsche Bank’s Global Market Centre in London, was commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU) and the European Union.

Spiegel - The Price of Survival

The envoy from Europe can hardly believe his eyes. Butterflies the size of dessert plates are fluttering around his nose. Orchids hang in cascades from towering trees.

Tehran Times - Biodiversity loss can dent world economy, study warns

The EU Commission and the German government have organized a study called “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity” (TEEB), which has been compared to the Stern Report on the cost of climate change.

Iran Daily - Biodiversity Loss Costs $3.1 Trillion

The destruction of flora and fauna is costing the world two trillion euros (3.1 trillion dollars) a year, or six percent of its overall gross national product, according to a report trailed by German news weekly Der Spiegel.

The Australian - Green damage bill '$3.3 trillion'

The European Union and German environment ministry-led research, entitled The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, will be presented today at the ninth conference of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Bonn.

My Wire - Biodiversity loss costs six percent of world income: report

Read More: http://www.mywire.com/Home.do

My Wire - Biodiversity loss costs six percent of world income: report

Read More: http://www.mywire.com/Home.do