Environmental Debt: The Hidden Costs of a Changing Global Economy

Over a 50-year lifespan, a single tree generates $62,000 worth of air pollution control, recycles $37,500 worth of water, and controls $31,000 worth of soil erosion. Environmental services like these contribute billions of dollars to the global economy every year, yet governments routinely ignore the importance of the natural world when planning economic development. In Environmental Debt, award-winning environmentalist Amy Larkin issues a clarion call for governments, businesses, and consumers to recalculate the financial contributions of the natural world—and the long-hidden costs of environmental damage. She explores the emerging concept of environmental debt, and the new accounting tools to track it, such as Environmental Profit & Loss Sheets, to show how businesses and governments can use conservation to drive growth by combining three central tenets: 1) take the long view; 2) accept that pollution can no longer be free or subsidized; and 3) policy must play a vital role in catalyzing clean technology and growth while preventing environmental destruction. As companies struggle to strategize in the face of uncertain oil prices and extreme weather, this timely and important book will transform how policymakers, business leaders, and environmentalists think about the future of commerce.