Hi everyone! I’m Sophus, ecological economist & PhD @DICE_Kent, working on how/if humanity can expand global infrastructure network within environmental limits. The small puzzle-piece I’ll discuss today is #biodiversity #offsets. Let’s dive in. #DICECON20 #ValueNat /pre

Big picture: SDGs commit to expanding global infrastructure networks to drive economic expansion & fight poverty; SDGs also commit to conserving non-human life & limiting climate breakdown. But historically, infra has caused biodiversity loss & climate change. #DICECON20 /1

The ongoing global infrastructure boom is unimaginably, incomprehensibly, terrifyingly massive. If we do infra in same way as the past, we will smash through 2 degrees warming & destroy a lot of life. Way we do infra MUST change. There is no alternative. #DICECON20 /2

Biodiversity offsetting is surprisingly widespread, covering >150,000km2 (work by @wildbusiness @StrangeNiels). We’ve also shown large proportion of new infra in coming decades falls in countries with some kind of biodv compensation policy https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590332219301332 #DICECON20 /3

Let’s review massive lit on if offsets are a good or bad idea. My fave argu for is offsets act like a tax, disincentivising biodv loss. My fave argu against is offset systems worldwide have undergone regulatory capture, making them toothless & even possibly harmful #DICECON20 /4

So do offsets… work? We’ve explored answer here: https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12664, @theis_seb @MarkPoesch et al. explore answer for wetlands here: https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cobi.13343. In short, no evid yet for success in forests, some in wetlands. Problem: most offsets are in forests. #DICECON20 /5

To make offsets work, real answer lies in the tough stuff: governance & politics. Offset governance is often woeful. We need data transparency, ANY enforcement of offset biodv outcomes AT ALL, more civil society oversight, compliance with biodv financial safeguards. #DICECON20 /6

Thanks to everyone interested in this talk! To learn more, here is (non-exhaustive) list of eco-compensation peeps I follow for info: @TBCbiodiversity @wildbusiness @martine_maron @LauraSonter @4steps4theearth @hollieboothie @juliapgjones @megcevans @mij_matt @RobertsonMorgan