This study aims to further develop the monetary figures used in the previous Cost of Policy Inaction (COPI) study carried out by Ecologic and its partners in 2008. The numbers used in the previous COPI analysis are here tested, validated, extended and further improved. The results feed into the wider Review on The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity (TEEB).

Background

The previous COPI study provided key ecological and economic insights on the impacts of not halting biodiversity loss. An aggregate global figure was derived equating to a €14 trillion loss in the value of ecosystem services from the cumulative loss of biodiversity over the period 2000 to 2050.

Objectives & Methodology

The study aims to make the figures used in the previous project more reflective of the wider range of ecosystem services, land use, geography, and biome combinations. In addition, the numbers and assumptions used in the previous study are here tested, fine tuned and supported by more extensive documentary evidence and wider peer review.

The specific objectives of the study are:

• to further develop the reference values contained in the COPI database, notably by testing and strengthening the available forestry values and by adding in extra information on regulatory services;
• to carry out a sensitivity analysis of the benefit transfer approaches used in the previous COPI study; and
• to assess the potential for substitution of specific ecosystem services by natural or artificial means, thereby setting out the ecological issues in relation to the generation of services, and the implications for their economic values.

The revised numbers will be a valuable contributor to the future success of TEEB (Phase II) and have the potential to raise interest and attention in the loss of biodiversity by the press, public and political levels and hence contribute to halting the loss of biodiversity.