A chief secretary for natural capital should be appointed by the UK government to ensure matters around natural capital within the green economy are dealt with at the highest level.
The suggestion was made during a committee hearing where members quizzed experts on how investors should measure natural capital assets, as it continues its inquiry on the role of natural capital in the green economy.
Asked by committee member and member of parliament (MP) Barry Gardiner whether the group should advise the government to create a formalised role to oversee standards with regards to natural capital funding and deployment, Scott Steedman, director-general at the British Standards Institution, replied that he “absolutely did”, adding that it was normal for any other department to manage business and trade in the same way.
“It’s taken me 16 years to get somebody to say that in front of a committee, so I am delighted,” Gardiner said.
Biodiversity Net Gain
Among the industry stakeholders giving evidence was Peter Bachmann, managing director of sustainable infrastructure at Gresham House, and professor David Hill, chair of the Environment Bank, who discussed their investment in natural capital, particularly in forests and biodiversity conservation.
Speakers also raised concerns about the potential conflicts between renewable energy development and biodiversity conservation.
While long overlooked, biodiversity is gaining some traction in ESG investing as its role in mitigating catastrophic climate change becomes clear.
Earlier this year, the Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) law became officially enforceable, making it the first-of-its-kind planning policy requiring developers in England to invest in measures in their development’s local area that will increase biodiversity by 10%.
In light of some concerns raised on how BNG should be monitored, MP Caroline Lucas stressed the need to continue monitoring BNG outcomes beyond the initial minimum 30-year agreed timeframe where any natural resource is protected.
A timeframe which Lucas described as “the blink of an evolutionary moment”, adding this protected timeframe should be much longer if to have any positive effects on biodiversity.
Critical state
Natural capital refers to elements of the natural environment – for example soil, water, and air – that provide goods and services to society. This could be through helping to produce basic goods like food and timber or helping to absorb waste products.
Nature in the UK is in a critical state of decline. Of the G7 countries, the UK has the lowest level of biodiversity remaining. According to Paul Scaping, public policy specialist at The Investment Association, the UK as a biodiversity intact score of just 52%.
The score is measured by attributing a percentage score to a particular area based on how intact the biodiversity is in that area against how you would expect it to be had there been no human interaction at all in the area.
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