The Economics of Enhancing the Natural Environment

This report for the Green Alliance demonstrates the clear role of nature-based solutions in driving economic, social and environmental recovery as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic. It shows that these interventions can boost wellbeing and living standards right across the UK, and particularly in some of the areas that need it most. Looking at just three types of enhancement (woodland creation, peatland restoration and urban green infrastructure) we find that an expanded programme of nature-restoration could create at least 16,050 jobs in the 20% of constituencies likely to face the most significant employment challenges. We present place-based analysis of the labour market and nature-based solutions, which can also be found on an interactive webpage here.

Click here to read the full briefing.

Published May 2021.