Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Pavan Sukhdev discusses the invisible natural economy...

This Corporate Knights news magazine interview with Pavan Sukhdev was filmed earlier this year during a series of talks in Canada organized by Sustainable Prosperity. Mr. Sukhdev is head of UNEP's Green Economy Initiative, a program intended to demonstrate that the greening of economies is not a burden on growth but rather a new engine for growth and poverty reduction.

The Deutsche Bank economist is leading the G8+5 commissioned report on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, which has shown the economic significance of the loss of nature's services. In this interview, Mr. Sukhdev explains the problems of a global economy that ignores the economic value of nature and its services.

Why do governments and corporations value some things and not others? Mr. Sukhdev discusses the impact of externalities and market failures on the valuation of natural assets and makes a case for assessing the real value of our environment.