Commentary on Dasgupta's Doctrine

Larry Elliot offers some interesting comments on Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta's (Cambridge University) review on the current rate of human use of natural capital (stuff we take from the planet) (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/10/planet-public-biodiversity-crisis-pandemic). Elliot maintains Dasgupta's review, "really is Capitalism for dummies, because any company that was as cavalier about its inventories of all other forms of capital- its machines, its IT systems and its people, would soon be out of business". Clearly, natural capital is something 'Humans Co' must take into account. Elliot also strikingly notes that, at present rates of consumption, humans would need an Earth some 1.6 times larger than the one they actually have. He suggests that, unlike other economic crises that have impacted on human populations, that associated with our runaway consumption of natural capital, can only be solved with the consent of the public. Fortunately, they are, at least in theory, generally supportive of doing something about climate change and the loss of biodiversity. Elliot thinks there are opportunities as well as challenges in such enterprises but you need sure-footed governance.