<p>Got this definition from <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/natural-capital.asp" rel="nofollow">Investopedia</a>. </p>

<p><i><b>"DEFINITION of 'Natural Capital'</b>
<p>A reference to the stock of natural resources, such as water and oil. Unlike other forms of equity (such as machines and buildings), which can be created on a regular basis, many natural resources are nonrenewable. Natural capital includes many resources that humans and other animals depend on to live and function, which leads to a dilemma between depleting and preserving those resources."</p>

<p></i></p>

<p>Simply put, Natural Resources are synonymous to Natural Capital.</p>

<p>The quote is saying that the assumption in modern economics fail to take into account the negative effect that their industry has on the environment.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-10T05:41:59.627Z
Your final paragraph seems to be incorrect - it's the opposite of what those movements are about.
410 gone
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-10T04:14:10.960Z
2016-08-10T12:33:12.403Z
2016-08-10T12:33:12.403Z
EconJohn
<p>Natural Capital is an analytic accounting approach: it is a system of putting a monetary value on environmental assets such as ancient woodland. It is also the name of those assets, within that approach. So it's one way of internalising the externalities of environmental change, within macroeconomic indicators.</p>

<p>For more, see in particular the work of <a href="http://iris.ucl.ac.uk/iris/browse/profile?upi=PEKIN72" rel="nofollow">Paul Ekins</a>, including <a href="http://oro.open.ac.uk/38/1/CRITINC_Framework_for_Pract._App.EcolEcon.pdf" rel="nofollow">"A Framework for the practical application of the concepts of critical natural capital and strong sustainability"</a> (pdf)</p>

<p>The philosophy of <em>decroissance</em> - of deliberately engineering a decline in traditional economic growth indicators - is one attempt to find an optimal and sustainable economic path, taking into consideration both the traditional economic indicators such as year-on-year changes in GDP, <strong>and</strong> changes to the population's wellbeing, together with changes to the national asset base, which includes changes in Natural Capital.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-10T05:39:46.723Z
2016-08-10T05:39:46.723Z
410 gone
<blockquote>
  <p>"European movements for degrowth, decroissance, are rooted in the idea
  that the perpetual growth assumption built into modern economics fails
  to take into account the depletion of natural capital. Hence the
  importance of sustainability."
  - <a href="http://www.newphilosopher.com/articles/the-end-of-progress/" rel="nofollow">The end of progress</a></p>
</blockquote>

<p>What is natural capital?</p>

<environmental-economics><definition>
What is Natural Capital?
leeand00
# What is Natural Capital?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-08-09)

> "European movements for degrowth, decroissance, are rooted in the idea
> that the perpetual growth assumption built into modern economics fails
> to take into account the depletion of natural capital. Hence the
> importance of sustainability."
> - [The end of progress](http://www.newphilosopher.com/articles/the-end-of-progress/)

What is natural capital?

**Tags:** environmental-economics, definition

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-08-10. Score: 0 | Accepted answer

Got this definition from [Investopedia](http://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/natural-capital.asp).

***"DEFINITION of 'Natural Capital'**

A reference to the stock of natural resources, such as water and oil. Unlike other forms of equity (such as machines and buildings), which can be created on a regular basis, many natural resources are nonrenewable. Natural capital includes many resources that humans and other animals depend on to live and function, which leads to a dilemma between depleting and preserving those resources."*

Simply put, Natural Resources are synonymous to Natural Capital.

The quote is saying that the assumption in modern economics fail to take into account the negative effect that their industry has on the environment.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Your final paragraph seems to be incorrect - it's the opposite of what those movements are about.  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2016-08-10. Score: 2

Natural Capital is an analytic accounting approach: it is a system of putting a monetary value on environmental assets such as ancient woodland. It is also the name of those assets, within that approach. So it's one way of internalising the externalities of environmental change, within macroeconomic indicators.

For more, see in particular the work of [Paul Ekins](http://iris.ucl.ac.uk/iris/browse/profile?upi=PEKIN72), including ["A Framework for the practical application of the concepts of critical natural capital and strong sustainability"](http://oro.open.ac.uk/38/1/CRITINC_Framework_for_Pract._App.EcolEcon.pdf) (pdf)

The philosophy of *decroissance* - of deliberately engineering a decline in traditional economic growth indicators - is one attempt to find an optimal and sustainable economic path, taking into consideration both the traditional economic indicators such as year-on-year changes in GDP, **and** changes to the population's wellbeing, together with changes to the national asset base, which includes changes in Natural Capital.


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