Nature, Society and Economy
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Foundation of Social and Economic Activities
Social and economic activities depend on the biosphere. The biosphere delivers ecosystem services, including energy, food, clean air, and water, and these services underpin society and the economy. Concern has grown in recent years regarding how social and economic activities affect the biosphere. As seen with deteriorating water resources and the rising number of disasters caused by deforestation, damage to the biosphere leads to a decline in ecosystem services, which then destabilizes society and harms economic growth.
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Material Transport Associated with Social and Economic Activities
Elements such as water and air continuously circulate in nature, but social and economic activities also create material flows. Carbon is a representative example. Carbon is transported globally through the extraction, movement, and use of fossil fuels; nonetheless, this human-driven flow is regarded as one-way rather than cyclical. Concerns about global warming caused by one-way carbon emissions have intensified, and technologies such as CCS and CCUS are drawing interest as ways to return emitted carbon back into the cycle.
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Relationship Between Business/Economic Activities and Nature
Our society and economy rely heavily on ecosystem services. A study has estimated the economic value of ecosystem services at approximately US$ 125 trillion per year, suggesting that the condition of these services is closely linked to corporate productivity and profitability. Simultaneously, human society exerts a substantial influence on nature through its activities. The effects of economic activity on nature disturb the ecological balance and endanger the ecosystem services we benefit from.
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Examples of How Business Activities Impact Nature
Although society and the economy depend on natural capital, they also impose various impacts on it.
This section presents examples of past environmental impacts arising from economic activity, grouped into five drivers of nature change: “alterations in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine use”; “resource extraction”; “climate change”; “pollution”; and “introduction of invasive alien species.” -
Nature-Related Developments Worldwide and in Japan
The Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), adopted in 2022, established “Nature Positive” (to halt and reverse biodiversity loss to put nature on a path to recovery) as the global mission for 2030. In response, governments, companies and organizations worldwide are pursuing nature positive initiatives, and the TNFD is one such effort.
TNFD has developed a framework for managing and disclosing corporate nature-related risks, and many companies have voluntarily reported their nature-related issues using this framework in recent years. -
Nature-Related Organizations and Initiatives
Various nature-related organizations and initiatives are developing and implementing international frameworks and goals, amid growing attention on climate change.
This section outlines the roles and activities of significant actors and platforms in the nature domain, including the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD-COP), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), Science Based Targets Network (SBTN), Nature Positive Initiative (NPI), and major international environmental NGOs (The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Conservation International (CI), and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)).
