Pricing the Priceless: The Financial Transformation to Value the Planet, Solve the Climate Crisis, and Protect Our Most Precious Assets

"Pricing the Priceless captures financial recognition for what is otherwise never calculated in financial terms. Water meters only measure the cost of the water we use, not the value of having clean water in the first place, reflecting what goes out but not what goes in. But keeping water clean is a vital public service, surely an indicator of good governance and management. In turn, if capital markets reward coherent risk management and resource stewardship in higher credit ratings for public entities, then those entities can issue bonds or borrow long term against that value. In this sequence, pricing the priceless translates the natural capital of clean water into bankable collateral, as compared to short-term raw material, and extends measurable value today to immeasurable value tomorrow. Also, if the value of clean water or other natural assets then enters the financial ledgers of a public budget as key assets, then, by extension, sufficient public funds can be allocated to their protection. Once assets have a notable value, protecting them becomes logical and better understood by taxpayers, who might otherwise consider environmental protection as a dispensable frill, compared to paving roads. In this shift, overall public good becomes an asset, nota cost. Overall, the stakes of valuing nature are vast and high. According to some estimates, that unbooked value in conventional global economic ledgers could be as high as $125 trillion per year--in other words, unpriced priceless assets leading to astronomical value squandered because we are blind to it"--
An exciting exploration of the new frontier of finance, to value the planet and protect what has too long been treated as free and taken for granted--the natural assets we need and love most In Pricing the Priceless: The Financial Transformation to Value the Planet, Solve the Climate Crisis, and Protect Our Most Precious Assets, renowned environmental strategist, speaker, world traveler and author Paula DiPerna brings a unique voice and optic to de-mystify and unveil today’s most fascinating financial disruption—pricing the priceless to flip conventional ideas of how we value natural assets and why. She asks the provocative question long ignored: Why do we value the indispensable atmosphere at zero, but dispensable production in the trillions? She digs into alternatives, with real-life examples from around the globe of fascinating and pioneering financial innovations—controversial and paradoxical, but essential. In the book, you’ll travel from rainforests to Wall Street, Board Rooms to the Vatican, coral reefs to mangroves to China’s carbon markets. Timely, adventurous, eclectic, and accessible, Pricing the Priceless brings alive the critical financial transformation that will determine future planetary health and social stability. With power, clarity and real-world experience, the author also examines: Fascinating new financial inventions and experiments—insurance, bonds, markets, investment funds—all aimed at pricing what is precious and vital to human well-being How the great current intergenerational shift in wealth and attitudes is redefining investment trends and the idea of what constitutes wealth and return How climate change and other urgent environmental problems now require entirely new financial thinking to trigger solutions How once-radical ideas about measuring economic progress are now re-imagining the very purpose of capitalism Why finance needs critical re-invention to remain credible in the face of increasing public skepticism of business-as-usual economic practice A can’t-miss read for thought leaders, business executives, investors, activists, and entrepreneurs, Pricing the Priceless is a landmark that will shape the world and future, bridging the tangible and intangible to answer a critical question of rising economic and social inspiration: What is money for?