Economy and Finance for a Just Future on a Thriving Planet

The report examines the systemic risks posed by the 'new planetary reality' of the Anthropocene, where climate instability and biosphere depletion create non-linear financial risks. It argues that current ESG metrics and macroeconomic indicators (like GDP) are insufficient because they fail to account for planetary boundaries and natural capital. The authors highlight the disproportionate responsibility of high-income countries for ecological breakdown and the role of 'keystone actors'—including transnational corporations and 'Big Three' asset managers (BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street)—in driving or mitigating these risks. The document proposes a shift toward a precautionary approach to financial regulation, the adoption of impact accounting, and the use of social norm shifts to accelerate a just transition.

• Humanity has exited the stable Holocene environment, and projected climate changes over the next 50 years may be more disruptive than any experienced since the beginning of civilization.
• The biosphere provides critical carbon sinks that have prevented the world from breaching the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C target, but this capacity is threatened by continued emissions and loss of resilience.
• High-income countries, representing 16% of the global population, are responsible for 74% of the global excess use of natural materials, including fossil fuels and biomass.
• Current ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) ratings are imprecise and often inaccurate because they rely on self-reported data and relative rather than absolute measures of impact.
• The 'Big Three' asset managers—BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street—hold unprecedented influence over global corporations and could potentially act as 'universal owners' to mitigate negative externalities.
• Tax haven jurisdictions facilitate environmental degradation and financial opacity, with a significant portion of foreign credit to deforestation-risk industries in the Brazilian Amazon flowing through such jurisdictions.
• Conventional macroeconomic indicators like GDP are 'blind' to the value of nature; the report suggests alternatives like the Inclusive Wealth Index (IWI) and Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP).
• The 'Blue Acceleration' describes the rapid human expansion into the ocean economy, where less than 1% of the total monetary value of the ocean is invested in sustainable projects.
• Financial risks in the Anthropocene are characterized by 'radical uncertainty' and non-linear domino effects, making traditional risk modeling and historical data insufficient.
• Large-scale behavioral change can be triggered by a committed minority of approximately 25% of a group, which can push social norms past tipping points toward sustainability.
• Central banks and financial supervisors can support a just transition by implementing 'green credit guidance', such as maximum lending ceilings for undesirable sectors.
• Transformative change requires an 'X-curve' approach, combining the scaling up of sustainable innovations with the active 'phase-out' of defective structures and harmful investments.

APA

Galaz, V., Daily, G., Folke, C., Levin, S., Ruckelshaus, M., Steffen, W., Jørgensen, P. S., Crépin, A.-S., Crona, B., Dauriach, A., Golland, A., Jouffray, J.-B., Norström, A., Rocha, J., Sanchez, P., Collste, D., Henriksson, P., Akbik, S., Lerpold, L., ... McPhearson, T. (2022). Economy and Finance for a Just Future on a Thriving Planet. Global Resilience Partnership. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/sthlm50reportfinal-1.pdf

Chicago

Galaz, Victor, Gretchen Daily, Carl Folke, Simon Levin, Mary Ruckelshaus, Will Steffen, Peter Søgaard Jørgensen, et al. Economy and Finance for a Just Future on a Thriving Planet. Global Resilience Partnership, 2022. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/sthlm50reportfinal-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Galaz |first1=Victor |last2=Daily |first2=Gretchen |last3=Folke |first3=Carl |last4=Levin |first4=Simon |last5=Ruckelshaus |first5=Mary |last6=Steffen |first6=Will |last7=Jørgensen |first7=Peter Søgaard |last8=Crépin |first8=Anne-Sophie |last9=Crona |first9=Beatrice |display-authors=etal |title=Economy and Finance for a Just Future on a Thriving Planet |publisher=Global Resilience Partnership |date=2022 |url=https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/sthlm50reportfinal-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{galaz2022economy, author = {Galaz, Victor and Daily, Gretchen and Folke, Carl and Levin, Simon and Ruckelshaus, Mary and Steffen, Will and Jørgensen, Peter Søgaard and Crépin, Anne-Sophie and Crona, Beatrice and Dauriach, Alice and Golland, Ami and Jouffray, Jean-Baptiste and Norström, Albert and Rocha, Juan and Sanchez, Paula and Collste, David and Henriksson, Patrik and Akbik, Sebastien and Lerpold, Lin and Lindkvist, Emilie and Malmer, Pernilla and Ordenes, Gay and Schill, Caroline and Schultz, Maria and Fichtner, Jan and Kedward, Katie and Zhang, Yanchun and Hallerby, Rebecka and Jonsson, Magnus and Nessen, Marianne and Ryan-Collins, Joshua and Ölcer, Dilan and Österblom, Henrik and Lindahl, Therese and Olsson, Per and Segerstad, Louise Hård af and McPhearson, Timon}, title = {{Economy and Finance for a Just Future on a Thriving Planet}}, institution = {Global Resilience Partnership}, year = {2022}, url = {https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/sthlm50reportfinal-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }