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What is lost through no net loss

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 September 2019

John O’Neill Open the ORCID record for John O’Neill [Opens in a new window]
John O’Neill*
Affiliation:
Philosophy, School of Social Sciences, Humanities Bridgeford Street Building, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
*
Email: john.f.o’[email protected]
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Abstract

No net loss approaches to environmental policy claim that policy should maintain aggregate levels of natural capital. Substitutability between natural assets allows losses in some assets to be compensated for by gains in others while maintaining overall levels of natural capital. This paper argues that significant goods that matter to people’s well-being will be lost through a policy of no net loss. The concepts of natural capital and ecosystem services that underpin the no net loss approach to environmental policy cannot capture important dimensions of value that are central to human well-being.

Keywords

de rede dictooffsetsnatural capitalecosystem services
Type
Article
Information
Economics & Philosophy , Volume 36 , Issue 2 , July 2020 , pp. 287 - 306
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019

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