Economic statistics tell an impressive story of 100 years of progress and show that more people are living better today than ever before. But these figures conceal a parallel story of mounting environmental pressures ¨C climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss ¨C that are undermining progress.  A failure to recognize humanity¡¯s greatest assets ¨C nature ¨C in official statistics will ultimately slow progress towards a sustainable, resilient future.

As economies begin their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, there is growing recognition that new measures are needed to move beyond gross domestic product, or GDP, and towards a system that considers all of society¡¯s assets ¨C natural, human, social, and institutional ¨C that harnesses their interdependencies, and delivers the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

To address these issues, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ DESA, the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany are hosting a to discuss how incorporating natural capital¡ªor the contributions of nature¡ªinto official statistics can help make nature count in business and policy decisions.

This webinar, on 15th December at 9:30 AM EST, will bring together world-leading experts to discuss the rationale for placing nature at the heart of the recovery from COVID-19, highlighting a global Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ-led effort to develop new statistics that reveal, rather than conceal, the impacts and dependencies of economies on nature. The resulting System of Environmental Economic Accounts - Ecosystem Accounting is expected to be adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission in 2021, providing high-quality, rigorous data on biodiversity, ecosystems and the environment-economy nexus.

Confirmed speakers include:

  • , Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany
  • , Editor in Chief, Nature Sustainability, as Moderator of the event.
  • , Bennett Professor of Public Policy and Co-Director, Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge
  • , Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Cambridge
  • Elliott Harris, United Nations Chief Economist and Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
  • , Deputy Director General, Statistics Netherlands and Chair of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Environmental-Economic Accounting

Join the webinar to get an insider's look at a series of landmark reports: 

  1. and (United Nations, 2020); and
  2. (Agarwala, et al 2020).
  3. (HM Treasury, 2020).

Register here: