The Natural Capital Crisis
Over half of global GDP depends on nature, yet markets systematically under-price it—creating massive economic risk and unprecedented opportunity.
What is Natural Capital?
Natural capital is the world's stock of natural resources including geology, soils, air, water, and all living organisms. These assets provide essential ecosystem services that enable economic activity and human wellbeing.
Despite supporting over 50% of global GDP ($44 trillion annually), natural capital is chronically undervalued in conventional markets, leading to degradation, climate risk, and systemic economic instability.
Global GDP Dependent on Nature
More than half of world economic output relies on functioning ecosystems.
Economic Value at Risk by 2030
Projected losses from ecosystem collapse and climate impacts on supply chains.
Wildlife Population Decline Since 1970
Average decline in monitored vertebrate species populations worldwide.
Carbon Markets: The Integrity & Friction Crisis
Existing voluntary and compliance carbon markets are plagued by opacity, slow verification, and trust deficits.
Voluntary Carbon Markets
Companies purchase credits to offset emissions voluntarily, outside of regulatory mandates.
Manual verification takes 6–12 months, delaying project revenue
Transparency gaps enable double-counting and fraudulent credits
Fragmented registries create friction and high transaction costs
Compliance Carbon Markets
Government-mandated cap-and-trade systems for regulated emitters (EU ETS, California, etc.).
Regulatory complexity limits accessibility for many organizations
Limited interoperability between regional systems
Does not address broader natural capital beyond carbon
The Integrity Gap
High-quality, independently verifiable carbon credits are scarce. Buyers struggle to distinguish legitimate projects from low-additionality or phantom offsets.
Key Issues:
- • Lack of real-time monitoring and verification
- • Inconsistent methodologies across standards
- • Permanence risk (carbon re-release)
- • Leakage (emissions shifting location)
Impact:
- • Corporate buyers face reputational risk
- • Reduced investor confidence in VCM
- • Project developers struggle to access capital
- • Ecosystem degradation continues unchecked
Beyond Carbon: A Broader Credit Universe
NCRB is architected for the full spectrum of ecosystem services—not just CO₂ offsets.
Soil Carbon Credits
Sequestration via regenerative agriculture and soil health practices, unlocking revenue for farmers.
Biodiversity Credits
Monetizing conservation outcomes—habitat restoration, species protection, and ecosystem integrity.
Water Quality Credits
Trading credits for watershed management, pollution reduction, and freshwater ecosystem services.
Blue Carbon / Ocean Credits
Coastal and marine ecosystem restoration—mangroves, seagrass, kelp forests with high sequestration potential.
Plastic Credits
Verified plastic collection and recycling credits, addressing the global pollution crisis at source.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)
Credits linked to SAF production and adoption, critical for decarbonizing air travel and logistics.
Market Size & Projected Growth
The natural capital opportunity spans trillions—with carbon as just one entry point into a multi-asset ecosystem.
Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM)
Nature-based solutions represent 30-40% of carbon removals needed to meet Paris Agreement targets.
Biodiversity Finance Gap
Annual shortfall represents massive opportunity for private capital and innovative financing mechanisms.
Total Natural Capital Opportunity
When combining carbon, biodiversity, water, soil, plastic, and other ecosystem services into a unified, tokenized asset class, the addressable market exceeds $10 trillion globally.
See How NCRB Captures This Opportunity