Scoping considerations for the request addressed to the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) to develop an Opinion on the Value of Nature

It is necessary to go beyond monetisation approaches, while noting that among the manifold reactions to the biodiversity and climate crises are attempts to valuate nature in economic and monetary terms. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), for example, highlights that most policymaking approaches have prioritised a narrow set of values at the expense of both nature and society, supporting short-term profit and ‘economic growth’. It found that achieving sustainable and just futures require institutions that enable a recognition and integration of broader understandings of the intrinsic value of nature and its value for human and other forms of life.