Nature Risk… Climate Risk
Nature risk, or the loss of natural assets, affects humans in a wide range of ways, but it is poorly understood, and its economic impact is not adequately measured. Yet it is gaining prominence during a time of concern about climate risk. The natural world helps mitigate climate change because it provides many natural sinks that absorb carbon dioxide, such as mangrove swamps. “Nature is critical for us to get to net zero,” said Jo Paisley, president of GARP Risk Institute, referring to a fundamental goal of the 2016 Paris Agreement. “And climate change is one of the drivers of […]
How to Measure Nature Risk?
In June 2024, Dawn Lalonde, a beekeeper in northern Ontario noticed a sudden die-off of about a million bees. The bee die-off affects much more than the amount of honey she can collect from her hives. Without bees, local crops and orchards do not get adequately pollinated, leading to lower yields. This is but one recent example of a type of risk coming into new prominence in business and economics: nature risk. Nature risk, the loss of things in the world not created or domesticated by humans, affects businesses and economies directly, by impacting operations such as lack of pollination, […]