1. Natural Capital-
Chair of the Natural Capital Committee
The Economic Need for Biodiversity
Castle Debates
10th May 2016
Dieter Helm

2. AGENDA
• The integration of the environment into the economy
• Assets, balance sheets and capital maintenance
• The aggregate natural capital rule
• Policies & policy options
• Practical implementation
• What comes next …

3. INTEGRATING THE ENVIRONMENT
INTO THE ECONOMY
• The environment is a key part of the economy
• Not an add-on luxury
• Otherwise economically inefficient & lower growth
• GDP masks most of these impacts

4. ASSETS, BALANCE SHEETS AND
CAPITAL MAINTENANCE
• The asset based approach v. services & flows
• Brundtland and the link to sustainability concepts
• Natural balance sheets and natural wealth
• Capital maintenance, assets-in-perpetuity & net budgets
• Most assets in the private sector

5. THE AGGREGATE NATURAL CAPITAL RULES
• Weak aggregate natural capital rule:
The aggregate level of renewable natural capital should be kept at
least constant, and there should be general capital compensation for
the depletion of non-renewables.
• Strong aggregate natural capital rule:
The aggregate level of renewable natural capital should be kept at
least constant and the value of the economic rents from the depletion
of non-renewable natural capital should be invested in renewable
natural capital.

6. POLICY AND POLICY OPTIONS
• Compensation principles
• Prices
• Economic rents

7. PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION
• The templates and pathfinders
• River catchments
• City
• Landscape restoration
• Marine
• Applying and generalising

8. WHAT COMES NEXT…
• The 25 year plan & the pathfinders
• The NCC’s role
• National natural capital accounts
• Company accounts
• Results, results, results…

9. FOR INFORMATION
Natural Capital Network
Paper 1.
Catchment management,
abstraction and flooding
Dieter Helm
Feb 2015
Natural Capital Network
Paper 2.
In defence of the green
belt
Dieter Helm
April 2015
Recent online publications
www.dieterhelm.co.uk
Natural Capital Network
Paper 3.
Flood defence: Time for a
radical rethink
Dieter Helm
Jan 2016

10. BOOK & WEBSITE
PAPER BACK NOW OUT
Available from
yalebooks.co.uk
NEW WEBSITE LAUNCHED
dieterhelm.co.uk