Valuing the World Around Us: An Introduction to Natural Capital
Putting a Price on Nature
Nov 20, 2014 11:45 AM ET
How do you put a price on nature and is there value in doing so? These are questions that TD Economics explores in its most recent environmental economics report "Valuing the World Around Us: an Introduction to Natural Capital."
Highlights from the report
- Natural capital refers to the economic, environmental, and social benefits provided by natural resources and ecosystems.
- Natural capital helps us to consider the complete impacts of our actions, by taking into account the impacts we have on the environment, society, and the world around us.
- By taking natural capital into account, governments, firms, and individuals can better recognize the true costs, benefits and return on investment of planned activities, helping improve the decision-making process.
- The benefits we receive from natural capital can be significant: the urban forest in New York City provides nearly $150 million in annual benefits, including air quality, energy savings, and wet-weather flow control; the rivers and wetlands of British Columbia's Lower Fraser Valley provide more than half a billion dollars in benefits each year.
To view a video overview of the report, go to:
http://watch.knowledgevision.com/332a3f91968c4349b0635ae59a8e8840
To read the report, go to:
- Valuing the World Around us: An Introduction to Natural Capital (Canadian focus – English)
http://www.td.com/document/PDF/economics/special/NaturalCapital.pdf
- Valuing the World Around us: An Introduction to Natural Capital (Canadian focus – French)
http://www.td.com/francais/document/PDF/economics/special/NaturalCapital_FR.pdf
- Valuing the World Around us: An Introduction to Natural Capital (U.S. focus) http://www.td.com/document/PDF/economics/special/NaturalCapitalUS.pdf
