The Crumbling Earth Account--Economic Liabilities and Consequences of Environmental Destruction (2008-2020s)

The Crumbling Earth Account--Economic Liabilities and Consequences of Environmental Destruction (2008-2020s)

In 2008, the economic damage caused by environmental destruction faced by the world was estimated to be approximately $660 billion (about 530 trillion yen), a shocking loss of about 11% of global GDP. The causes were diverse, including deforestation, soil degradation, and air and water pollution, but the loss of carbon sequestration capacity due to deforestation in particular was having a serious impact on the entire ecosystem. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) presented the grim prospect that if the current situation was left unchecked, the damage would more than quadruple by 2050, and called for the urgent need to conserve ecosystems and internalize environmental costs.

Over time, in the 2020s, the alarm bells became reality: according to statistics for 2022, the damage caused by environmental destruction exceeded $10 trillion, or more than 13% of global GDP. In Asia, where urbanization and industrialization are rapidly advancing, air and water pollution is taking a toll on social infrastructure in China and India, and natural capital is rapidly being depleted behind economic growth.

Japan is no exception. Plastic waste is threatening the ecosystem along the coasts of Tokyo Bay and the Seto Inland Sea, and by 2021, microplastics collected in Tokyo Bay will reach an abnormal concentration of 5,000 pieces per cubic meter. Furthermore, in Kasumigaura, cadmium concentrations have been found to exceed twice the environmental standard, and the ghosts of the pollution of the past are beginning to reappear.

Thus, in the decade since 2008, the economic cost of environmental destruction has doubled, and natural resources are being depleted faster than they can be regenerated. At the same time, however, measures such as the introduction of renewable energy, strengthening of environmental laws and regulations, and expansion of ESG management are gradually beginning to show results, and we are approaching a turning point in protecting our future. Balancing the environment and the economy is no longer an ideal, but a condition for survival.