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Reflections on the Dasgupta Review on the Economics of Biodiversity

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  • Ben Groom

    (University of Exeter Business School)

  • Zachary Turk

    (London School of Economics and Political Science)

Abstract

The Dasgupta Review provides a rich overview of the economics of biodiversity, paints a bleak picture of the current state of biodiversity, and is a call to arms for action in anticipation of the CBD COP 15. The Review takes a global perspective aimed at the high level of international and national policy on biodiversity, while elucidating the very local nature of biodiversity threats and values. The approach is orthodox in its diagnosis via the language of externalities, natural capital, shadow pricing, asset returns, and the suite of remedial policies that follow. Yet, at its centre is an ‘unorthodox’ perspective: the economy is embedded in the environment and growth is limited. We offer reflections on this framing in light of its objectives for biodiversity. The limits to growth message will be criticised and applauded in equal measure by different economists. The central place of valuation and the aggregated concept of biodiversity will draw criticism from outside the discipline. Yet the Review provides a foundation for biodiversity economics, and its largely orthodox framing may invoke the intended step change in the mainstream approach to economic growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Ben Groom & Zachary Turk, 2021. "Reflections on the Dasgupta Review on the Economics of Biodiversity," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 79(1), pages 1-23, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:79:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s10640-021-00560-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s10640-021-00560-2
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    Cited by:

    1. Nicolas Treich, 2022. "The Dasgupta Review and the Problem of Anthropocentrism," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 83(4), pages 973-997, December.
    2. Mathilde Salin & Katie Kedward & Nepomuk Dunz, 2024. "Assessing Integrated Assessment Models for Building Global Nature-Economy Scenarios," Working papers 959, Banque de France.
    3. Meran, Georg, 2023. "Is green growth possible and even desirable in a spaceship economy?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    4. Edward B. Barbier, 2022. "The Policy Implications of the Dasgupta Review: Land Use Change and Biodiversity," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 83(4), pages 911-935, December.
    5. Krishna Raj Bhandari & Mikko Ranta & Jari Salo, 2022. "The resource‐based view, stakeholder capitalism, ESG, and sustainable competitive advantage: The firm's embeddedness into ecology, society, and governance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1525-1537, May.
    6. Thomas Knoke & Nick Hanley & Rosa Maria Roman-Cuesta & Ben Groom & Frank Venmans & Carola Paul, 2023. "Trends in tropical forest loss and the social value of emission reductions," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 6(11), pages 1373-1384, November.

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