Dutch economy causing €40 billion in damage to biodiversity: ABN Amro

Production and consumption in the Netherlands cause nearly 40 billion euros of damage to biodiversity. The damage comes from unsustainable land use, greenhouse gas emissions, and air and water pollution, ABN Amro reported based on a study by the bank and the Impact Institute.

The study charted the damage caused by 65 industries through trade with 140 countries and the use of 42 types of crops. According to the bank, it is essential, also economically, to do less damage to biodiversity. “Radical steps” are needed for this, the bank said.

Biodiversity regulates everything from the climate and water cycle to the purification of water and air, breaking down waste, pollinating plants, and spreading seeds. The biodiversity damage, therefore, leads to a loss of value for ecosystem services like food production, carbon storage, and air and water filtering in the Netherlands and abroad. More than half of the world’s economy depends on these ecosystem services from nature.

According to the researchers, a large part of the damage done by the Dutch economy does not occur at the industries themselves but at customers or suppliers. 70 percent of the damage takes place via trading partners abroad, like when cocoa imports coincide with poor land use in the Ivory Coast and Ghana or the import of beef with water pollution in Argentina.

According to the researchers, the key to solving the biodiversity crisis does not lie solely with the agricultural sector or the food industry. Together, these sectors account for almost a quarter of the damage. But the use of IT by banks or business service providers also causes environmental damage through high energy consumption in data centers and the use of scarce metals in hardware, for example.

The researchers believe that reducing damage should be an integral part of business operations. This could include appointing an ecologist or biologist at the top of the company to influence strategic choices in this way.

In addition, the government plays a crucial role. The basis of policy needs to shift from the focus on economic growth to broader welfare indicators. It must include income equality, biodiversity, and health as benchmarks for successful policy.