The wealth of nature

The report examines the relationship between natural capital and human prosperity, arguing that current economic systems fail to accurately measure, value, and manage nature. It highlights that while human wealth has increased, renewable natural capital is being depleted due to a lack of appropriate price signals and a flawed assumption that nature is easily substitutable by man-made capital. The authors propose integrating natural capital into comprehensive national wealth accounts and using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework for protecting critical natural capital. Key recommendations include establishing Natural Capital Committees, using non-market valuation techniques, and supporting R&D for technologies that reduce pressure on nature.

• The erosion of natural capital poses a threat to national and global prosperity, but political and economic systems are unprepared to respond because natural capital is not accurately measured or valued relative to ecological tipping points.
• Mainstream economic methodologies often incorrectly assume that natural capital can be easily substituted by man-made capital, whereas empirical evidence suggests that the aggregate substitutability of natural capital is actually low or moderate.
• There is a stark difference in how exhaustible and renewable natural capital are managed; exhaustible resources are often valued at market prices that reflect scarcity, while renewable resources lack such price signals and are frequently depleted beyond their regenerative capacity.
• Wealth data indicates that rich countries did not achieve prosperity by destroying nature; instead, they invested in produced and human capital and applied advanced technologies to boost the value of their natural capital per person.
• Current national wealth accounts, such as those from the World Bank, are incomplete as they only include five types of natural resources (forests, exploited land, protected areas, fossil energy, and mineral resources), omitting critical elements like fisheries and renewable energy.
• The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically goals 13, 14, and 15, provide a politically agreed foundation for a governance framework to protect critical natural capital and set limits to its depletion.
• The report recommends that countries establish Natural Capital Committees that report directly to Finance Ministries to oversee the reporting and governance of natural infrastructure.
• To prevent irreversible damage, the authors suggest that countries create a register of critical capitals and maintain natural infrastructure with an appropriate reserve margin, similar to how bank regulators manage capital reserve ratios.

APA

Cohen, F., Hamilton, K., Hepburn, C., Sperling, F., & Teytelboym, A. (n.d.). The wealth of nature. Green Economy Coalition. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/webWealthofNature.pdf

Chicago

Cohen, François, Kirk Hamilton, Cameron Hepburn, Frank Sperling, and Alexander Teytelboym. The wealth of nature. Green Economy Coalition, n.d. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/webWealthofNature.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cohen |first1=François |last2=Hamilton |first2=Kirk |last3=Hepburn |first3=Cameron |last4=Sperling |first4=Frank |last5=Teytelboym |first5=Alexander |title=The wealth of nature |publisher=Green Economy Coalition |url=https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/webWealthofNature.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cohenndwealth, author = {Cohen, François and Hamilton, Kirk and Hepburn, Cameron and Sperling, Frank and Teytelboym, Alexander}, title = {{The wealth of nature}}, institution = {Green Economy Coalition}, url = {https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/webWealthofNature.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }