The problem

Natural capital is best thought of not in terms of “flows”, as with some other forms of capital, but instead in terms of assets from which we derive utility.  We use natural capital either in its own right or by combining it with other forms of man-made capital to deliver ecosystem services, such as energy, medicines and food. (And of course, few would disagree that nature has a value in and of itself, beyond the uses humans find for it.)  

Some natural capital we can only use once: its supply is finite, and we therefore refer to it as non-renewable. It’s no secret that we have used up many of these non-renewable resources already.

You can now read the full whitepaper at the link below