“How much does it cost to save the world?” Fixing Food would make +$6 Trillion in profit, apparently.
“How much $$$ do we need to save the world?”
Doesn’t everyone want to know.
According to research compiled by Drawdown.org, transformation of the human food production system to a biospherically-regenerative system would cost something like $1.3 Trillion to start-up over the next 30 years, and of course take on additional operating costs, but would generate close to $8 Trillion in profits.
Now, one caveat — Drawdown’s math can be funny at times. I may write about that one day…
But, my friend John (founder/ceo of EQO) and i are compiling the costs of protecting and rebuilding Biosphere Earth by 2030 and 2050. “Project Drawdown” has the most complete collection of estimates, re: natural climate solutions at this time; a great general resource.
In the image above, my compilation of Drawdown’s research shows maximum potential costs, profits, and carbon reductions, according to their conservative estimations. Here’s the takeaway:
In the area of Regenerative Food Production alone, a full-tilt evolution from today’s self-destructive food system into one that makes sense would not only stop the most biospherically-destructive practice on Earth, it would stop it by doing all of these things:
- Feeding human beings
- Cleaning our air and water
- Creating jobs & generating profits
- Securitizing habitat for pollinators
- Reestablishing atmospheric evapotranspiration cycles
- Reestablishing land-based moisture sinks (watersheds)
- Making global food production more resilient to climate change and extreme weather
- Cooling local climes
- Reducing industrial, livestock, and agricultural wastes
- Reducing synthetic fertilizer use
- Restoring soils and biodiversity
- Saving biodiversity
- and Increasing net positive bio-productivity around the planet.
And then go on to…
Absorb a lot of Carbon
In addition to all of the above, there’s the “secondary benefit” of greenhouse gas absorption via restored trees, soils, vegetation, foods, and wildlife all pulling carbon out of the air and into their bodies, putting it into biologically-productive use that rebuilds and fortifies our planetary biosphere.
How Much Carbon? 193 Billion Tons CO2
Tallying-up Drawdown’s estimates shows that a Regenerative Food Production system could achieve removal of nearly 25% of current global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, roughly on par with planting 1 Trillion Trees.
So, then, Potentially More $$
Regenerative food production’s carbon absorptions could be sold as “carbon offsets” to further offset the costs of Regen Food’s transition and operation. Though we lack a universal price on carbon today, there is a growing carbon offset market among corporations, governments and individuals ready to invest in reversal of their carbon footprints, potentially worth $200 Billion by 2050.
Meanwhile: Saving Species & Stopping Climate Change
All of these benefits, if full-scale employed, would increase vegetative and soil-based evapotranspiration at massive scale and therefore slow global warming by cooling the air at Earth’s surface. All of this — large scale cooling, carbon absorption, and restored evapotranspiration — are accessible in an ongoing, compounding way from Regenerative Food Production. Ecosystem regrowth and restoration would also soften Earth’s literal land surfaces, decreasing extreme weather intensity. Biorich, biodiverse ecosystems also boast faster recovery times from extreme weather intensity. And furthermore, Regen Food’s increase in natural ecosystem scale and continuity would improve pest management and the quality of our oxygen and freshwater.
Let’s see that’s profit, food, water, resilience, slowing climate change, strengthening our biosphere…
What are we waiting for?
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Sharing my worksheet. Here’s the worksheet shown in the graphic top of this post, in Google Drive: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1a22sjBBh-xiDUDffWeOqYr_sSNvd5sug2-ZohjZlJz8/edit?usp=sharing
