23 Aug How can the UK attract investors to support a nature positive future?
The UK is one of the most nature-depleted nations in the world and statistics show the country has lost more wildlife than any other G7 nation. The Environmental Audit Committee’s new inquiry on the role of natural capital in the green economy intends to determine how Government policy supports investment in nature recovery.
The Government has committed to leave the environment in a better condition than we found it, and to reverse biodiversity loss worldwide by 2030. Ministers confirmed a series of measures to achieve these goals, including the launch of a Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment, introducing a mandatory biodiversity net gain requirement and collaborating with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures to create metrics for businesses and financial organisations to integrate within their investment decision making.
At the beginning of 2023, the Environment Secretary stated that measures like carbon sequestration, clean water, biodiversity and natural flood management continued to be undervalued within the UK economy. The government focused on plans to enable further private finance to support the nature-positive economy.
The phrase Natural Capital is used to emphasise it as a capital asset, similar to produced and human capital. The Committee seeks to understand if Government policies used to promote natural capital and investment in biodiversity protection are sufficient. The Committee is exploring the role that private investment can play and how the UK can develop leading markets in natural capital assets while avoiding the issue of greenwashing investments.
Philip Dunne, the chairman of the EAC explains that nature and biodiversity are declining at a rapid rate in the UK, and there are necessary safeguards that must be added to prevent any further loss. The financial market will play a major role in supporting the development and strengthening of the UK’s natural capital.
The Committee aims to understand how UK markets in natural capital are progressing, and if the existing frameworks and measures driven by Ministers are effective in promoting investment in nature recovery and enabling the UK to become a leader in nature-positive investment.
The Committee will explore measures that prevent greenwashing in the natural capital market so that investments and policies make a definitive impact on nature, environmental recovery and biodiversity nationwide.
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