Stewart To: Canadians Concerned about Recognizing and Valuing Natural Assets Date: September 24 2024 Re: A Clear and Overdue Path to Accounting for Natural Assets in Canada Devastating wildfires and floods this year have highlighted the risks arising from the lack of public accountability for natural assets in Canada. [...] However, over-consumption of open access, seemingly “free” services from natural assets can lead to continued and undocumented degradation of such assets, as comprehensively discussed by the Dasgupta review in the UK and encapsulated in concepts like the “tragedy of the commons” and negative externalities. [...] Additionally, IPSASB has updated its international standard for the measurement of the financial value of assets , introducing “current operational value” as a method for quantifying the “service potential” of natural assets. [...] Momentum is building in Canada ahead of official standards to provide the data necessary to more effectively measure the financial value of natural assets. [...] Public sector recognition of natural assets will inevitably affect the private sector, particularly public-private interactions, such as land development, which often degrade and diminish the financial value of these assets.
Authors
- Pages
- 1
- Published in
- Canada
