The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity

Its objective is to highlight the growing cost of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation and to draw together expertise from the fields of science, economics and policy to enable practical actions.

[4] Its sponsors declared TEEB to be a "major international initiative to draw attention to the global economic benefits of biodiversity, to highlight the growing costs of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, and to draw together expertise from the fields of science, economics and policy to enable practical actions moving forward.

It focused largely on forests and looked at the extent of losses of natural capital taking place as a result of deforestation and degradation.

TEEB recommends that urgent remedial action is essential because species loss and ecosystem degradation are inextricably linked to human well-being.

TEEB finds that sound ecosystem and biodiversity management, and the inclusion of natural capital in governmental and business accounting can start to redress inaction and reduce the cost of future losses.

TEEB Phase II, currently underway, takes an economic approach that is spatially specific and builds on knowledge of how ecosystems function and deliver services.

TEEB recommends that national accounting systems need to be more inclusive in order to measure the significant human welfare benefits that ecosystems and biodiversity provide.

An estimated 5 gigatonnes or 15% of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions are absorbed or 'sequestrated' by forests every year, making them the "mitigation engine" of the natural world.

Scientists contributing to the TEEB process indicate that irreversible damage to coral reefs can occur at atmospheric CO2 concentrations of over 350 parts per million (ppm).

This promotes sectors regarded as necessary for a green economy such as: agriculture, buildings, cities, fishery, forests, industry, renewable energy, transport, tourism, waste management, and water as well as the enabling conditions in finance, domestic and international policy architecture.

Human preferences may be a good guide to choosing ice cream flavors but not the mix of species or gases in the atmosphere necessary to sustain life.