Rebuilding Natural Capital

The Scottish Government’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET) sets out an ambition for Scotland to take global leadership in rebuilding natural capital. As part of this, NSET commits to establishing a values-led, high-integrity market for responsible investment in natural capital, recognising that restoring and improving natural capital is both a public and private responsibility. The contribution that natural capital investment makes towards environmental outcomes (e.g. carbon storage, biodiversity, water quality) is well known, however the potential for economic impacts is less well understood. To help address this gap, Scottish Government published research on the economic benefits of natural capital investment in 2022 and 2023. Both pieces of research include new economic models for estimating the output and employment effects from different types of natural capital investment, for example as part of policy / programme appraisal or business case development. These models are available for download alongside the research reports.