The Natural Capital Declaration
A declaration by the financial sector demonstrating our commitment at the Rio+ 20 Earth Summit to work towards integrating Natural Capital considerations into our financial products and services for the 21st century
The Roadmap to a Green Economy
Twenty years ago the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro focused on the importance of the natural environment and the services it provides (collectively, Earth’s “Natural Capital”) in sustaining human existence. As we approach the twentieth anniversary of this great event, the international community looks to the forthcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012 (also called “Rio +20”) to make headway on key issues including – the green economy and an institutional framework for sustainable development.
Today, we the undersigned financial institutions wish to acknowledge and re-affirm the importance of Natural Capital in maintaining a sustainable global economy. This declaration calls upon the private and public sectors to work together to create the conditions necessary to maintain and enhance Natural Capital as a critical economic, ecological and social asset. We present this declaration to the world community at Rio +20, as a private sector finance response to the conference theme of working towards a green economy’. This declaration has been developed based on an extensive consultation process with the financial community over the course of 2010 and 2011, including meetings in London, Nagoya, Hong Kong, Munich, Washington D.C. and São Paulo.
http://www.naturalcapitaldeclaration.org/declaration.php