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We are thrilled to see the release yesterday of a national strategy to develop statistics for environmental-economic decisions, or a system of national accounts like our GDP accounting but for the environment! This mandate will create a U.S. system to “account for natural assets…and quantify the immense value this natural capital provides.” The U.S. will join over 90 countries that have begun formalizing natural capital accounting into their national economic statistical systems including the U.K, Canada, India, Switzerland, Germany, Kenya, Ghana, the Philippines and so many others.
Greene Economics is particularly pleased to see the recognition and emphasis on incorporating values and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples into the process.
The team at Greene Economics has been following the development of these tools and methods to capture the economic value of nature, and nature-based solutions for over 30 years. We regularly incorporate the same types of measurement techniques most of our service areas that will be used in the new system for our clients who wish to include these values into their decisions. Climate change and the loss and degradation of ecosystems increasingly affects so much including operations, productivity, environmental risk, and financial uncertainty. We strive to apply best available science to quantify and value the benefits of ecosystems services for our clients.
Check out this article by The New York Times to learn more about natural capital accounting: White House Aims to Reflect the Environment in Economic Data