Nearly US$9 trillion, two-thirds of China’s total gross domestic product (GDP), is at risk of disruption from nature loss. Making China’s economy ‘nature-positive’ could generate US$1.9 trillion in additional annual revenue and create 88 million jobs by 2030 according to a new report by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The new report, Seizing Business Opportunities in China’s Transition Towards a Nature-positive Economy, produced in collaboration with Golden Bee, shows how significant business opportunities can be created if new business practices are adopted across three socio-economic systems: food, land and ocean use; infrastructure and the built environment; and energy and extractives. These systems are interconnected and can unlock untapped economic potential.
Businesses can create a virtuous cycle between people, planet, and profit. Investing in and living in harmony with nature will better secure sustained performance and prosperity. Chinese businesses can harness technologies and innovation while adopting and promoting the UN Global Biodiversity Framework to collectively shape a more resilient and beautiful future for China, said Gim Huay Neo, Managing Director, World Economic Forum.
The report highlights progress to date, provides case studies, and offers recommendations to accelerate new growth across these three systems.
- Food, land, and ocean use: Six transitions can generate almost US$565 billion in additional annual revenue and create 34 million new jobs by 2030. One of the transitions identified would be – eco-tourism, projected to create some US$53 billion of additional revenue in China – providing the largest business opportunity in accelerated ecosystem restoration and avoiding land and ocean over-exploitation.
- Infrastructure and built environment: Five transitions to transform this system could add roughly US$590 billion in annual revenue and create 30 million new jobs by 2030. An example of a key opportunity in this system’s transformation is promoting the use of smart parking – a market worth US$94 billion in 2020 but expected to grow to around US$219 billion by 2025.
- Energy and extractives: Four transitions could create almost US$740 billion in additional revenue per year and 23 million new jobs by 2030. Improving how resources are used or reused throughout the vehicle lifecycle could create roughly US$122 billion of commercial value and over 3.7 million jobs by 2030 in China.
The report also sets out how China is well-placed to lead the transition to a carbon-neutral and nature-positive economy by delivering its “ecological civilization” vision and implementing its new national biodiversity conservation strategy.
Nature is critical to China’s continued prosperity and social development. It is also at the heart of its ‘ecological civilization’ vision and intrinsically linked to its climate agenda. While our economy is currently facing non-negligible risk from nature loss, this report shows that taking bold action to ‘put nature first’ can secure our economic, social, and climate ambitions while creating substantial business value, said Justin Lin Yifu, Dean, Institute of New Structural Economics, Peking University, Beijing.
The potential gains for China in transforming its economy represent nearly 20 percent of global business opportunities and jobs creation. As the world enters a decisive decade for action on nature and climate, the Chinese government and businesses need to work closely to raise global ambition on biodiversity commitments, drive policy and regulatory changes, lead technological innovations, and mobilize investment.
China is uniquely positioned to lead a global movement towards a nature-positive, carbon-neutral future. As the President and host of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP 15, it provides leadership in setting forth an integrated agenda that builds societal, economic, and ecological resilience, said Elizabeth Mrema, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.
