The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), a project launched by Germany and the European Commission in response to a proposal by the G8+5 Environment Ministers (Potsdam, Germany 2007) to develop a global study on the economics of biodiversity loss and hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme has highlighted in its latest report that natural systems represent one of the biggest untapped allies in the fight against climate change.
TEEB study leader, Pavan Sukhdev, along with German Federal Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel; Director-General for Environment, European Commission, Karl Falkenberg; and UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UNEP, Achim Steiner say that governments attending the crucial United Nations climate convention meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009 must reach an agreement on funding for forests.
The TEEB press release suggests that “investing in ecosystem-based measures such as financing Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) could not only assist in combating climate change but could also be a key anti-poverty and adaptation measure." Governments must include ecosystem services in their national accounts in order to “measure what they manage". The TEEB report has also asked that the United Nations' 2003 handbook on Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting be upgraded to include forest carbon.
All these efforts will not be in vain. The TEEB findings suggest that an investment of $45 billion in Protected Areas alone could secure nature-based services worth some $5 trillion a year. Protection and restoration of ecological infrastructure can be a cost effective means to tackle the effects of climate change. While governments are expressing interest in expensive investments in carbon capture and storage at power stations, they are not tapping on nature's ability to capture and store carbon. Much of this natural biodiversity exists in developing countries. Tropical and sub-tropical forests store about 25 per cent of the carbon in terrestrial natural areas. TEEB suggests that developing countries must be rewarded for improving conservation, carbon stock enhancement and sustainable forest management. The concept of ‘Payments for Ecosystem Services' to reward forest custodians for some of these values can therefore be beneficial.
The TEEB update also warns that there could be serious consequences if governments fail to rise to the challenge. Coral reefs, for example, could be irreversibly damaged if CO2 concentrations continue to remain over 350 parts per million (ppm) as this causes increased temperatures and ocean acidification.
The upcoming climate conference in Copenhagen presents the perfect international opportunity to create a framework for ‘Payments for Ecosystem Services'. It could truly help in highlighting the economics of ecosystem and biodiversity and “internalise the vast ‘externalities' of natural capital". TEEB's report suggests: “To implement a forest carbon agreement, there must be reliable systems of measurement and accounting for carbon storage and sequestration in a variety of ecosystems. Several trans-national initiatives are under way to make national accounting more comprehensive, but there is an urgent need for a global accounting standard to reflect forest carbon values and other ecosystem services in national accounts."
TEEB recommends significant investment in protecting ecosystem services and biodiversity, fostering the development of ecological infrastructure, as a contribution to both climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The final results of Phase II of the TEEB study will be presented in late 2010. In November 2009, a TEEB report for national and international policymakers will be released. For more information, go to www.teebweb.org.
