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© 2006

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Natural Capital:
A Critical Foundation of Our Economy

Executive Summary

In this 2004 Greening of the Budget submission, the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) emphasizes that Canada must take better account of the full range of assets necessary to sustain a healthy society and economy. These assets represent our nation’s “capital,” an economic term first used to designate entities such as buildings and equipment that ensured economic production in the future. This submission stresses that other types of capital – in particular, the environmental assets that provide the ecological “services” that make life possible – are also important to our future well-being. The concept of sustainable development requires that future generations have the necessary capital of all types – and certainly no less than we do – to pursue their own goals. In order to uphold this principle, federal budgets need to account for the full range of our national capital.

 

The federal government has made concerted use of the budget to promote policies and behaviours that stimulate the creation of produced capital through measures to enhance innovation and productivity. It has focused less attention on the equally important opportunities to use fiscal policy to help maintain the continued productivity of our natural capital.

This budget submission identifies three groups of recommendations to ensure that our fiscal policies systematically integrate environment–economy considerations and explicitly recognize the role of natural capital in maintaining a prosperous economy. They are:

  • improving the information base on natural capital;
  • helping rural and Aboriginal communities protect natural capital; and
  • protecting natural capital in urban communities.

These recommendations reflect the critical role fiscal policy plays in influencing decision making in Canada. Their adoption will mark an important step in integrating sustainability considerations into our fiscal policy; such integration is essential if the federal government is to promote sustainable development effectively and consistently.

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Investing in Canada’s Natural Capital


National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy
2004 Greening of the Budget Submission
Complete document -- Adobe PDF version
Investing in Canada's Natural Capital
[Summary] - [Details and Table of Recommended Measures]
Improving the Information Based on Natural Capital
[Summary] - [Details and Table of Recommended Measures]
Helping Rural and Aboriginal Communities
Protect Natural Capital

[Summary] - [Details and Table of Recommended Measures]
Protecting Natural Capital in Urban Communities
[Summary] - [Details and Table of Recommended Measures]