Seminar followed by Q&A and drinks – attend in person or online – all welcome

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are actions to protect, sustainably manage, or restore natural ecosystems in ways that enhance their ability to reduce or remove carbon emissions. They are important to achieving net-zero climate goals, especially by reducing emissions from land use change. NbS credits feature prominently in carbon offset markets. Economics has an important role in assessing the unique benefits, costs, and distributional impacts of NbS; addressing the concerns raised over additionality, leakage, and permanence for the effectiveness of scaling up NbS; and evaluating the integrity of NbS offset credits. In addition, the long-term potential of NbS for climate mitigation will depend on their cost-effectiveness compared to conventional energy and technology-based solutions. More analysis is needed of how NbS could be supported by economy-wide policies and financing sources other than carbon markets.

Edward B. Barbier is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Economics, Colorado State University and a Senior Scholar in the School of Global Environmental Sustainability. His main expertise is environmental and resource economics as well as international environmental policy. He has consulted for national, international and non-governmental agencies, including many UN organizations, the World Bank and the OECD. Professor Barbier has published widely in leading academic journals and is a highly cited scholar on global environmental and sustainability issues. His latest book is the award-winning Economics for a Fragile Planet, Cambridge University Press.
www.edwardbbarbier.com