Category: Blended finance
The UN estimates the global economy will lose $23trn by 2050 through land degradation The UN estimates the global economy will lose $23trn by 2050 through land degradation The UN estimates the global economy will lose $23trn by 2050 through land degradation
Oct 16th, 2020
The G20 launched the Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation last month, in the latest sign that land fertility is finding itself on the radar of policymakers the world over. But while investors talk increasingly about biodiversity and deforestation, less talked about is the final element of SDG15 (Life on Land): to combat desertification, and half and reverse land degradation.
Desertification and land degradation undoubtedly pose risks to global food systems – and the wider economy and finance. Scientists have warned that 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil is being lost per year, largely due to unsustainable agriculture practices, and the UN estimates the global economy will lose a whopping $23trn by 2050 through land degradation.
There could be stranded assets, too, warns BNP Paribas Asset Management's ESG analyst and biodiversity specialist Robert-Alexandre Poujade. “Land can become degraded to the point that it can’t support a…