Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to (a) cost the degradation of natural assets resulting from headline GDP growth and (b) ensure long-term environmental costs are reflected in fiscal planning.

Since the Dasgupta Review, the Government has taken forward work to integrate nature into policy-making, including improving the valuation of natural capital through collaboration with Defra and its Biodiversity Expert Committee.

The Government is supporting the Office for National Statistics to develop natural capital accounts, including estimates of asset depletion, to better capture changes in the value of natural assets.

HM Treasury embeds environmental considerations into fiscal decision-making. The Green Book requires departments to assess the full range of costs and benefits, including environmental impacts, supported by supplementary guidance such as Defra’s Enabling a Natural Capital Approach.