Why we need environmental accounting
This article originally appeared in the August 2010 issue of The Bottom Line.
The need for consistent, decisive environmental accounting principles has been argued in professional circles for some time, but is perhaps never better illustrated than right now in aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon ecological catastrophe. This sad incident also reinforces the need to better account for the limits of nature's carrying capacity. The underlying issue is the why and how of putting a value on nature that will enable nature to effectively compete with the financial metrics of Return on Investment (ROI) in the global capital markets.Dan Rubenstein proposes a way of using new estimates of the dollar value of nature's services and incorporating these values in the traditional accounting model. Rubenstein's approach is unique in that it bridges the divide between ecological economics and traditional accounting for both business and government.
You might also be interested in
WTO Agriculture Negotiations at MC13: What does the lack of outcomes mean for least developed countries and other vulnerable economies?
IISD expert Facundo Calvo analyzes what came out of the WTO's agriculture negotiations at the 13th Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi and its implications for least developed countries and other vulnerable economies.
UNFCCC Submissions Tracker
Tracking and sharing opportunities for stakeholders to give input to the UN climate change negotiations.
Copenhagen Climate Ministerial: Expert comment
Around 40 climate leaders and ministers are meeting in Copenhagen from March 21 to 22 to discuss priorities for COP 29.
Surprising bacterium from Canadian lake shines new light on ancient photosynthesis
Sometimes an experiment doesn’t go as planned. That’s science. But a “failed” experiment or unexpected results can be the avenue to a discovery you could never anticipate. A University of Waterloo PhD student had a poorly growing bacterial sample he wasn’t ready to give up on, which ultimately led to a once-in-a-lifetime finding that could change how scientists view photosynthesis and its origins.