Destroying Biodiversity May Cost the World $2.7 Trillion a Year

摘要

The global economy could lose as much $2.7 trillion a year by 2030 if countries continue to destroy biodiversity, impacting wild pollination, food from fisheries and timber from forests.That’s according to the World Bank, which warned that existing economic projections are too optimistic because they fail to take account of a decline in nature’s services that’s alreadyhappening. In a business-as-usual scenario, the world is set to lose about 46 million hectares (114 million acres) of natural land and fish stocks will continue to fall, it said in a report.The findings come as China prepares to host the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity gathering in Kunming in October, where governments are likely to agree on aframework to support nature. The World Bank study said that so-called nature smart policies, which curb the conversion of natural land, could spur an increase in global real grossdomestic product of $50 billion to $150 billion by the end of the decade.