Nature At WEF24: Three Key Discussions

I was able to participate in several excellent sessions on nature at #WEF24: I worked closely with the World Economic Forum teams on Nature and Biodiversity, led by Akanksha Khatri , as well as Sustainable Finance, led by Derek Baraldi . Thank you both for your partnership.

Putting a price on nature

First to Putting a Price on Nature – I was lucky to moderate a World Economic Forum panel diving into this with public and private sector leaders, which you can watch here.?It's cheeky title to make a vital point – in the time that GDP has more than doubled, our natural capital has declined by nearly 40%. With all the world’s population?and half our GDP?dependent on nature and its services, we need to better connect ecology and economics so that business systems respect this up-until-now largely free resource that is in fact extremely expensive.

A vital first step is measurement, and gross ecosystem product (GEP) was presented as?a way to account for the goods and services provided by nature. We discussed the necessity of integrating natural capital valuation into business models, particularly in the agriculture sector.?It was noted that consumers can pay the necessary premiums (which can be small) but that those need to find their way to the grower, who incurs the cost.?Across the board there was agreement on the importance of creating durable incentive systems to ensure the value of nature is both recognized and rewarded throughout the supply chain.

We also raised that indigenous communities play an important role in protecting nature – through all of this, we?have a responsibility to support their stewardship efforts, their education, and prosperity.?While some uses of nature can be valued, both Uyunkar and Minister Silva reminded us that much is priceless or invaluable, and needs better protection.

It occurred to me, listening to our speakers – who came at the problem from varied angles – that my favourite notion of “love and rigour” could apply here. We need to balance love and respect for nature with rigour in the way that we interact with natural capital.?

Thank you Uyunkar Domingo Peas Nampichkai,?Ronald Hovsepian, Marina Silva,?Hubert Keller,?and Gretchen Daily for the fascinating and diverse discussion.

Sector actions toward a nature-positive future

It was then to the Sustainable Development Goals Tent for a working session on developing sector actions towards a nature-positive future. 150 attendees were fantastically stewarded by Eva Zabey , CEO of Business for Nature , and supported by on the Oliver Wyman side by Natascha Fischer (née Lührs) (who has done a great job on this).

Across 14 breakout tables we debated the sector-specific actions that could be taken. In the final voting, it was noticeable to me that the top three suggestions all came from the financial services table: greater transparency and data across supply chains; plus two that echoed the previous panel – ‘pain in the pocket’ to prompt wiser interaction with nature; and ‘value in the pocket’ – development of market-based opportunities and impacts.

My view here is that the financial services industry has led well in climate evolution, and can also play a leading role on nature, which is even more complicated. But it will require reform across many sectors. Eva pointed us towards the WEF/WBCSD/Business for Nature reports on sector-specific guidance, supported by Oliver Wyman amongst others,?and urged us all to?assess?our impact,?commit?to transition,?transform our businesses, and?disclose?our actions, best practices, and results.

Financing the nature-positive transition

Last on the agenda for nature was a working session with leaders on Financing the Nature Positive Transition to help guide the work of the World Economic Forum over the next twelve months. I am delighted to be part of this program and excited to see what comes next.