ReBalance Earth sustainability conference

On Tuesday 21 February, a group of Lower Eighth Paulines and students from Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School attended the inaugural ReBalance Earth Natural Capital Conference at the Institute of Engineering and Technology in central London.

In the last 50 years, we have witnessed a 69% drop in wildlife populations as reported by the WWF Living Planet Report. This, in addition to degrading ecosystems, could trigger a downward spiral of US$2.7 trillion in global Gross Domestic Product by 2030, according to the UNDP.

The conference, organised by ReBalance Earth Co-Founders Walid Al Saqqaf and Rob Gardner, brought together world class experts from a variety of fields to discuss the current state and future of natural capital. The Rt Hon John Glen MP – Chief Secretary to the Treasury – gave the opening lecture, with IMF Director Ralph Chami following up with a fascinating talk on the funding gap for nature restoration. Finally, Rob Gardner provided a fascinating insight into the concept of High Integrity Natural Capital Credits as a mechanism for placing true value on carbon-capturing services of nature. Other excellent speakers included Danielle Mulder, sustainability lead at the BBC, and Gaya Herrington, VP of Sustainability Research at Schneider Electric, who discussed topics such as biodiversity, the economic value of nature, and the role that technology, standards and frameworks play in transforming natural capital as an investible asset class.

Students were placed front and centre of the conference, with multiple speakers addressing them directly, pointing out that it is the youngest generations who will bear the brunt of our actions in the 20th Century. Students from both schools were selected to give short, vox pop interviews on their thoughts for use in the video of the conference being produced by ReBalance Earth.

It was an inspiring day and pupils were able to hear from those at the cutting edge of the political and socio-economic transition that our world desperately needs.