What is “Nature Positive”?
TL:DR - Nature Positive moves beyond carbon to encompass all aspects of nature. It is important to elevate Nature Positive alongside carbon markets in order to avoid exceeding Earth's planetary boundaries.You may have heard of terms such as Net Zero and Carbon Neutral. But have you heard of the term “Nature Positive”? What is it and why is it important?
The goals of Net Zero and Carbon Neutral are to reduce and remove the source of climate change - human-induced emissions of carbon and other Greenhouse Gases. Boiling an existential threat down to a single unit of measure, like carbon, has distinct advantages — carbon is measurable and quantifiable allowing the financialisation of efforts to avert climate catastrophe through the ability to price behaviours that prolong it (via taxes) or remedy it(via rewards).
Nature positive is a disruptive idea that goes beyond climate change. Alongside the avoidance, removal or storage of carbon and other greenhouse gases, it encompasses all areas of nature — from biodiversity to water quality and the threat of plastic pollution. This holistic approach is best summarized through the concept of planetary boundaries. These nine boundaries are the limits within which humanity can thrive. Crossing these boundaries increases the risk of large-scale abrupt or irreversible changes.
The concept was first introduced in 2009 by Johan Rockstrom who led 28 internationally renowned scientists to identify the 9 boundaries. Each boundary represents a process that regulates the stability and resilience of Earth’s systems. Professor Rockstrom gives a great Ted summary that will explain the concept of Planetary Boundaries in an easily digestible format.
So why is Nature Positive a necessary addition to environmental or climate vernacular and how can it be integrated into everyday actions? Well, carbon accounting and the associated goals of net zero and carbon neutral are but a step on the journey. They are extremely important to address the issue of carbon and greenhouse gas emissions but miss the fact that we have both a climate and nature emergency. Both of these emergencies are a result of an economic, social and political system that enshrines human well-being over all others whilst dismissing the associated negative externalities such as pollution that result in climate change and the destruction of nature.
Generally, it is the government’s role to address market failures such as these negative externalities. One way they do this is through the introduction of taxes that help to alter the behaviour of companies and individuals. If we had a tax on carbon or on the destruction of natural capital these externalities would be priced in. However, climate change and the destruction of nature are the mother of all externalities — borderless, global, complex and uncertain.
Humans suffer dangerously from “shifting baselines” (otherwise commonly known as boiling frog syndrome). What we consider to be a healthy environment now, past generations would consider being degraded, and what we judge to be degraded now, the next generation will consider to be healthy or ‘normal’. This means we do not address negative externalities until it’s too late, for example until a planetary boundary is so broken it cannot be repaired.
Nature positive is a revolution in designing business and social models based on regeneration and harmony with nature. It requires us to put in place mechanisms that avoid exceeding the planetary boundaries whilst incentivising the restoration and protection of nature. It promotes stable societies and healthy economies that bring humans back into balance with nature.
So how can we deliver a Nature Positive future? Carbon markets currently list traits such as biodiversity, soil health, and air or water quality as co-benefits. These traits are often built around numerous UN Sustainable Development Goals. Nature Positive markets elevate these traits from mere co-benefits to central tenets of any nature-based project.
The growing demand for Nature Positive solutions is seen in the growth of carbon credit buyers looking for high-integrity nature-based solutions that support more than just carbon removal or avoidance. Increasingly, corporates prioritise high-quality carbon credits with well-documented co-benefits to meet the goals required by various stakeholders. Nature Positive credits ensure these co-benefits are met whilst addressing the threat to the nine planetary boundaries.
Katalyst Earth is focused on delivering high integrity, high-quality Nature Positive solutions. These are things that end customers and the general public can easily understand and therefore have a higher chance of integrating into the purchasing decisions. This integration is key to the widespread adoption required to scale climate solutions.