Finding economic value in nature beyond carbon

This briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics argues that nature and ecosystem services provide immense economic value, often exceeding the gains from their exploitation, and that the costs of biodiversity loss pose systemic risks to global GDP and financial stability.

• Ecosystem services are estimated to be worth more than USD 150 trillion annually, which is approximately 1.5 times the global GDP in 2023. Conversely, biodiversity loss is currently costing the global economy over USD 5 trillion per year, a figure similar to the estimated cost for Europe to transition to renewable energy by 2050.
• Major global economies have significant financial exposure to nature loss, with the US, EU, and China combined having the highest absolute GDP exposure at USD 7.2 trillion. A World Economic Forum analysis indicates that USD 44 trillion of economic value generation—nearly half of global GDP—is moderately or highly dependent on nature, with the food and beverage, agriculture, and construction sectors being the most dependent.
• The economic costs of destroying nature often outweigh the benefits of exploitation. For example, nitrogen pollution from agricultural runoff in the EU is estimated to cost between EUR 70 billion and EUR 320 billion annually, which is more than double the value fertilisers add to EU farm income. Similarly, the environmental and health impacts of livestock farming in the Netherlands cost EUR 9 billion a year, three times the sector's added value.
• Failure to act on ecosystem degradation could lead to severe global GDP contractions. A collapse of essential services like timber provision, marine fisheries, and pollination could result in annual global GDP losses of USD 2.7 trillion by 2030. Under a 'Business-as-Usual' scenario, the reduction of six essential ecosystem services could cost the global economy at least USD 479 billion per year by 2050, with a 0.67% annual drop in global GDP.
• Nature provides significant economic value beyond carbon sequestration. Tropical forests are a primary source of pharmaceutical drugs; it is estimated that each new drug discovered in these forests is worth USD 194 million to companies and USD 927 million to society. Additionally, mangrove forests reduce property damage from floods by over USD 65 billion annually, protecting more than 15 million people.
• Environmental destruction in one region creates economic shocks in others. Deforestation in Brazil and Bolivia disrupted moisture recycling, intensifying a 2015-2016 megadrought in Colombia that caused a national energy crisis and increased energy prices nearly tenfold because hydropower provides over 70% of Colombia's energy. In the US, nutrient runoff from Midwestern farms creates a 'dead zone' in the Gulf of Mexico, costing fisheries and the marine environment up to USD 2.4 billion annually between 1980 and 2017.
• Pollination is a critical service contributing between USD 235 billion and USD 577 billion to global agricultural production and food security annually. However, over 40% of insect pollinators are facing extinction. A total 'pollinator collapse' is valued at a mid-point range of USD 1 trillion, or 1-2% of global GDP.
• Conserving biodiversity is more cost-effective than building a net-zero energy system, requiring only 15% of the annual investment. While the annual funding needed to manage biodiversity by 2030 is estimated at USD 996 billion (less than 1% of 2023 global GDP), there is a funding gap of approximately USD 830 billion per year. Currently, 80% of biodiversity financial flows—about USD 133 billion per year—come from public finance.

APA

Team, Z. (2024). Finding economic value in nature beyond carbon. Zero Carbon Analytics. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/finding-economic-value-in-nature-beyond-carbon/

Chicago

Team, ZCA. Finding economic value in nature beyond carbon. Zero Carbon Analytics, 2024. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/finding-economic-value-in-nature-beyond-carbon/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Team |first1=ZCA |title=Finding economic value in nature beyond carbon |publisher=Zero Carbon Analytics |date=4 October 2024 |url=https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/finding-economic-value-in-nature-beyond-carbon/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{team2024finding, author = {Team, ZCA}, title = {{Finding economic value in nature beyond carbon}}, institution = {Zero Carbon Analytics}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/finding-economic-value-in-nature-beyond-carbon/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }