The rhino, the rainforest, the carrot and the stick

Environmental degradation is difficult to stop because there is no upfront cost from delivering destruction. The short-term driver is always financial. But this mixes up the immediate returns with the longer-term costs. Over time these are ultimately cash flow negative. And given most is driven by agrarian expansion, it rarely provides anything but subsistence employment. Technology now offers potential avenues in which naturally scarce environmental assets can be made tradeable. Markets can then do their magic and define their financial worth in the here and now. With vision this could be a game changer for man’s development and a multi-trillion dollar asset class.

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