Writing Task 2 on Biodiversity Loss and the Nature Economy

Biodiversity underpins the fabric of life and the global economy, yet it is eroding at an unprecedented rate. The United Nations highlights that more than half of global GDP depends on nature and over one billion people rely on forests for their livelihoods. Land and ocean ecosystems absorb more than half of humanity’s carbon emissions, making them critical for climate stability. Despite this, up to one million species are threatened with extinction and 85 % of wetlands have disappeared. Humans have altered more than 70 % of ice‑free land, primarily for food production and urban development. This habitat loss, coupled with climate change and pollution, accelerates species extinction at rates up to 1,000 times the natural background rate.

The economic repercussions are profound. The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report ranks nature loss alongside climate change among the top threats facing the world. The SDG Action campaign estimates that unsustainable practices in food, land and ocean use now cost the global economy about US$12 trillion per year, while harmful subsidies that damage nature amount to US$4–6 trillion annually. Yet nature also presents opportunities: reforming these practices could unlock US$10 trillion in annual business opportunities and create 395 million jobs by 2030. Protecting biodiversity is therefore not only a moral imperative but an economic strategy. By valuing ecosystem services—such as pollination, water purification and carbon sequestration—and integrating them into financial decision‑making, governments and businesses can shift towards a nature‑positive economy.

Solutions span local to global scales. Conserving and restoring forests, wetlands, peatlands and mangroves offers cost‑effective climate mitigation. The Kunming‑Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022, calls for protecting 30 % of land and oceans by 2030 and respecting indigenous rights. Redirecting harmful subsidies to support sustainable agriculture, fisheries and forestry is critical. Incorporating nature-related risks into economic and financial policies—through frameworks like the Taskforce on Nature‑related Financial Disclosures—ensures that investments account for biodiversity impacts. Finally, empowering Indigenous Peoples and local communities, who steward much of the world’s biodiversity, is essential for equitable conservation. Stopping biodiversity loss is both an environmental and economic challenge; acting now will preserve the natural systems on which human prosperity depends.