• About
  • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Contact
Celebrating our 1,000th edition. The climate news you need
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  FEATURED
BREAKING: 40% of Fossil Fuels Now Under Development Must Stay in the Ground May 17, 2022
Rocky Mountain Glaciers ‘Past Tipping Point’, with Some Expected to Vanish by 2030 May 17, 2022
UK Activists Block Russian Oil Tanker From Docking in Essex May 17, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: Bid to Revive Doomed Nova Scotia LNG Project Collides with Germany’s Net-Zero Plans May 16, 2022
3,800 Residents Ordered to Evacuate after Flooding in Hay River, NWT May 16, 2022
Next
Prev
Home Demand & Distribution Cities & Communities

Biodiversity Loss Threatens Half of Cities’ GDP, Prompting Call for ‘Nature-Positive’ Infrastructure

January 24, 2022
Reading time: 3 minutes

Biodiversity Loss Threatens Half of Cities’ GDP, Prompting Call for ‘Nature-Positive’ Infrastructure

Friends of the Urban Forest/flickr

1
SHARES
 

Some 44% of global urban GDP is at risk thanks to environmental degradation caused by the exponential growth of cities since 2000, says a new report. But “nature-positive” investment could be profoundly regenerative, creating nearly 60 million jobs and generating more than US$1.5 trillion in revenues by 2030. 

The World Economic Forum’s BiodiverCities by 2030 Initiative seeks to reverse the existential threat posed by the catastrophic relationship cities now have with nature, offering a detailed plan for harmonious coexistence by 2030, says a WEF press release.

Noting that cities account for 80% of global GDP—and a corresponding 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions—the WEF adds that “integrating nature-positive solutions can help protect cities from growing risks associated with extreme weather while driving sustainable economic growth.”

There’s no time to waste to get on with that transition, the report authors note [pdf]. “Between now and 2030, 1.5 million people are expected to arrive in urban areas every week, and 75% of the population on Earth will be living in cities by 2050, compared with 56% today.” They urge “multistakeholder action” to combat the environmental destruction that has historically occurred when cities expand, adding that “a high proportion of the direct impact to nature from this urban expansion is forecast to occur in some of the most biodiverse and environmentally-intact regions in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.”

With so much at stake, the report calls for “nature positive actions” and stresses the opportunities that will accrue from pursuing them.

Unpacking the business case for BiodiverCities in a separate brief [pdf], the authors write that by “investing in Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for infrastructure—such as prioritizing reforestation to smother heat waves or flooding from storms—cities can derive significant benefits.”

Those forms of infrastructure are 50% cheaper than “grey”, man-made alternatives, says the report, and deliver 28% more direct and environmental benefits.

So far, “with less than 0.3% of current spending on urban infrastructure going to NbS, there is a significant investment opportunity for cities to tap into—estimated to reach up to US$113 billion annually in 2030,” the report brief.

“Land-sparing interventions”—where land is repurposed or rewilded—will also reap considerable financial benefits. The BiodiverCities report cites $469 billion in annual investment opportunities by 2030, with additional revenue likely as cities “become more attractive to residents and tourists.” 

Taken together, “this $583-billion investment opportunity in nature could generate $1.5 trillion in annual business value for investors by 2030, and possibly significantly more with the introduction of new technologies and markets.” 

And investing in nature in and around cities will be a job generator: more than 59 million by the end of the decade, “equivalent to 1.5% of the projected global labour force.” 

The report authors list three core transformations in urban development models that will be necessary to make their BiodiverCities by 2030 vision a reality.

The first is for legacy models “driven by cost efficiencies and ad hoc urban planning” to be replaced by an approach to urban governance that considers the needs of all stakeholders and accounts for the value of natural ecosystems.

This shift will require “ownership by top levels of government, strong coordination and leadership at the city level, and policy that fosters innovation and holds the private sector accountable for its impact on nature.”

Second, city planners must “restore the ‘natural layer’ as the backbone of their development.” That will mean “preserving natural habitats within and around cities, renaturing degraded land (through, for example, community-based tree planting), and ‘growing smart’ by embedding nature in new or upgraded infrastructure.”

Finally, investors will need to be persuaded to bank on nature. That effort should include “adopting standardized biodiversity data to inform investment decisions and creating new markets and models” to reduce risk.



in Biodiversity & Habitat, Cities & Communities, Community Climate Finance, Ending Emissions, Forests & Deforestation, Health & Safety, Heat & Temperature, International Agencies & Studies, Jobs & Training, Legal & Regulatory, Severe Storms & Flooding

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

Mounting Drought Risk Confronts London, Other World Cities
Drought, Famine & Wildfires

Mounting Drought Risk Confronts London, Other World Cities

May 19, 2022
127
85,000-Hectare Fort Mac Wildfire Expected to Grow for Days
Drought, Famine & Wildfires

Six Traumatic Years After ‘The Beast’, Fort McMurray Remains Loyal to Big Oil

May 19, 2022
88
‘New New Math’ Means Keeping Even More Fossils in the Ground: McKibben
International Security & War

U.S. Can’t Drill Its Way to Energy Security, Jenkins Warns

May 19, 2022
58

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

Mounting Drought Risk Confronts London, Other World Cities

Mounting Drought Risk Confronts London, Other World Cities

May 19, 2022
127
85,000-Hectare Fort Mac Wildfire Expected to Grow for Days

Six Traumatic Years After ‘The Beast’, Fort McMurray Remains Loyal to Big Oil

May 19, 2022
88
Ontario Contemplates ‘Ultra-Low Carbon’ Super-Agency

Ontario’s New Highway 413 Would Boost Emissions, Bake In ‘Auto-Dependent Sprawl’

May 19, 2022
64

BREAKING: 40% of Fossil Fuels Now Under Development Must Stay in the Ground

May 18, 2022
432
New Congressional Funding, Tax Credit Extensions Create ‘Enabling Conditions for Decarbonization’

ESG Becomes Latest ‘Acronym-Based Outrage’ in U.S. Republicans’ Culture Wars

May 19, 2022
63
‘New New Math’ Means Keeping Even More Fossils in the Ground: McKibben

U.S. Can’t Drill Its Way to Energy Security, Jenkins Warns

May 19, 2022
58

Recent Posts

Newfoundland Offers Suncor $175 Million to Restart Terra Nova Offshore Oilfield

Newfoundland Opens New Round of Offshore Oil Bidding

May 19, 2022
51
Farmers’ Mental Health Strained by Climate-Driven Weather Extremes

Farmers’ Mental Health Strained by Climate-Driven Weather Extremes

May 19, 2022
51
Calgary Company to Supply 180 MWh of Battery Capacity to Alberta Grid

Calgary Company to Supply 180 MWh of Battery Capacity to Alberta Grid

May 19, 2022
56
Customer Demand Pushes U.S. Utilities Toward Solar, Energy Services

Power Sector Giants Promote ‘Fair, Just Transition to Net-Zero’

May 19, 2022
51
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Haiyan

Fossils Liable For Human Rights Violations in Landmark Ruling by Philippines Commission

May 19, 2022
34
Food and Fashion Sectors Lead Widening Spread of Climate Careers

Food and Fashion Sectors Lead Widening Spread of Climate Careers

May 19, 2022
29
Next Post
Tonga Eruption, Tsunami Evoke Climate Impacts, Trigger Serious Oil Spill in Peru

Tonga Eruption, Tsunami Evoke Climate Impacts, Trigger Serious Oil Spill in Peru

The Energy Mix

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}

2022 ONTARIO GENERAL ELECTION

KEEP UP WITH ONTARIO’S CLIMATE CHANGE ELECTION

election-checkmark
Get Election Notifications

2022 ONTARIO GENERAL ELECTION

KEEP UP WITH ONTARIO’S CLIMATE CHANGE ELECTION

election-checkmark
Get Election Notifications
The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

2022 ONTARIO GENERAL ELECTION

KEEP UP WITH ONTARIO’S CLIMATE CHANGE ELECTION

election-checkmark
Get Election Notifications

2022 ONTARIO GENERAL ELECTION

KEEP UP WITH ONTARIO’S CLIMATE CHANGE ELECTION

election-checkmark
Get Election Notifications
The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

2022 Ontario General Election

Keep up with Ontario’s Climate Change Election

election-checkmark
GET THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST

2022 Ontario General Election

Keep up with Ontario’s Climate Change Election

election-checkmark
GET THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST
The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

2022 Ontario General Election

Keep up with Ontario’s Climate Change Election

election-checkmark
GET THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST

2022 Ontario General Election

Keep up with Ontario’s Climate Change Election

election-checkmark
GET THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST
The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?