The global economy fails to recognise its most valuable assets: forests, mangroves, seagrasses, and other vital ecosystems that serve as nature’s most powerful carbon sinks and resilience mechanisms. Despite providing trillions in environmental services, these ecosystems remain absent from sovereign balance sheets, rendering them invisible in fiscal policy and economic decisions and undermining the urgency of preserving them. This degradation of biodiversity is exacerbated by significantly underfunded conservation initiatives, which negatively impact both nature and local livelihoods.
Previous G20 proceedings and briefs have highlighted the risks of biodiversity loss, the urgency of natural capital valuation, and the potential for financial linkages. Yet solutions remain fragmented and fail to address a core issue: many emerging economies are rich in natural resources but cannot generate economic value without resorting to extraction, which, without constraints, can be detrimental in the longer run. To address this, a fundamental shift is required: one that redefines economic value by including nature and positions ecosystem preservation as central to fiscal and financial decision-making.
This policy brief builds upon recent advances and frameworks and proposes the co-creation of a standardised Natural Capital Balance Sheet (NCBS) Framework. Spearheaded by the G20, the NCBS seeks to streamline existing natural capital accounting efforts, positioning itself not as a competing approach but as a unifying actor that connects economic prosperity with environmental stewardship. By outlining a practical, implementable roadmap, the NCBS adds value to current frameworks by helping countries recognise, protect, and value nature, thereby enabling them to translate ecosystem preservation into tangible economic benefits.
Following the roadmap and with co-creation of the framework, the G20 can future-proof development, align with global conventions like the UNFCCC and the Convention on Biological Diversity, and set a new standard for sustainable growth. The NCBS Framework offers a credible pathway to integrate ecological thresholds into economic planning, ensuring that future prosperity is aligned with the virtues of regeneration and resilience.
