Michele Leung, 香港地球之友綠色金融顧問 / Green Finance Advisor of Friends of the Earth (HK)
自然資源為地球上有限的實物和生物資源，包括水、土地、空氣及棲息地，而自然資源成本一詞則用於描述企業所能依賴的環境資源的未定價或非市場價值。通過進行環境輸入量的經濟評估，自然資源估值能有效補充ESG分析報告內容。
2013年，聯合國曾斥資開展一項具有標誌性意義的研究，名為「自然資源的危機：100個商業外部成本」的分析，並作為推動「生態系統及生物多樣性經濟學」的廣泛措施之一。 分析估計世界初級產業的土地使用、水用量、溫室氣體排放、空氣污染、土地和水污染、以及廢物的處理成本高達近7.3萬億美元。
2019年5月，生物多樣性和生態系統服務政府間科學 ― 政策平台（IPBES）發表了一份新報告，報告中發布的一些普遍統計數據和事實描述了令人擔憂的趨勢：
- 75%：人類活動迄今為止「嚴重改變」了陸地環境的比率（海洋環境佔66%）
- 47%：全球生態系統的規模和狀態指標比估計的自然標準減少了的比率（當中不少指標以每十年至少4%的幅度下降）
「2020年愛知目標」是各國政府於2010年簽訂的一系列全球生物多樣性承諾，旨在減慢生物多樣性的流失速度及為可持續發展經濟提供基礎，但是IPBES報告已經暗示這些目標將不會達到。以上事實表明，大自然的貢獻對我們和下一代至關重要，社會應更廣泛及深入地了解生物多樣性的減少所引起的風險。
惟有透過企業以至金融投資者的共同努力，大自然才可以被保護、回復生氣及可持續地發展。方法之一，就是將自然資源成本納入估值。一間公司採用的資源貨幣量化和其創造的環境外部成本，能促使環境風險整合到估值和定價機制中。此舉令環境外部成本成為進行公司財務分析時的考慮因素之一，並因此而有效地評估財務和信用風險的潛在影響，最後便能整合至投資層面。企業可利用自然資源估值，更了解公司因環境和社會影響將面臨的風險，而金融機構也會對特定環境風險投資進行壓力測試，並根據這些風險調整資產配置策略。
Natural capital is defined as the limited stocks of physical and biological resources found on earth including water, land, air and habitats while the term natural capital cost is used to describe the unpriced or non-market value of the environmental resources that businesses depend on. Natural capital valuation would supplement the ESG analysis with economic valuation of environmental inputs.
In 2013, a landmark study commissioned by UN, Natural Capital at Risk: The Top 100 Externalities of Business[1] analysis was launched and also as part of a wider initiative on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity. The estimated cost of land use, water consumption, GHG emissions, air pollution, land and water pollution and waste for the world’s primary sectors amounts to almost US$7.3 trillion.
In May 2019, the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) issued a new report[2], some of the general statistics and facts published in the report describe alarming trends:
- 75%: terrestrial environment “severely altered” to date by human actions (marine environments 66%)
- 47%: reduction in global indicators of ecosystem extent and condition against their estimated natural baselines, with many continuing to decline by at least 4% per decade
The 2020 Aichi Targets – a set of global biodiversity commitments agreed by governments in 2010 – were designed to slow the rate of loss of biodiversity and provide foundations for a more sustainable economy, yet IPBES report implied these targets will be missed. All these pointed that natural’s contribution is very vital to us and our future generations. The implications of risk arising from biodiversity loss should be more widely and deeply understood.
The nature can be conserved, restored and used sustainably through collaborative efforts from business to financial investors. One approach would be to start integrating natural capital cost into valuation. The monetary quantification of resources used by a company and environmental externalities created enables the system integration of environmental risks into valuation and pricing mechanisms. It allows for consideration of environmental externalities in financial analysis of companies, and the potential impact on financials and credit risk, which would then be aggregated at portfolio level. Companies can use natural capital valuation to better understand the risks they face as a result of environmental and social impact costs, while financial institutions would also stress test its portfolio for specific environmental risks and adjust its asset allocation strategy according to environmental risk.
[1] https://www.trucost.com/publication/natural-capital-risk-top-100-externalities-business/
[2] Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
