The coming week in The Hague may prove to be one of the most important in the three-and-a-half-billion year history of life on earth.

We have lost sight of the dependence we have on nature in economics

The coming week in The Hague may prove to be one of the most important in the three-and-a-half-billion year history of life on earth.

From the recycling miracles in the soil; an army of predators ridding us of unwanted pests; an abundance of life creating a genetic codebook that underpins our food, pharmaceutical industries and much more, it has been estimated that these and other services are each year worth about double global GDP

We are developing all sorts of technologies based on what we have learnt from birds, animals and soils. Pollination is worth £billions. But it also highlights how nature is so interconnected.

The wealthiest 300 people have greater riches than the three billion poorest. The three wealthiest people have greater riches than the 48 poorest countries put together. With only limited environmental space to accommodate the expected 9 billion human inhabitants of the world by 2050, such disparities in consumption are clearly not sustainable

Nature is not a drag on growth - its protection is an unavoidable prerequisite for sustaining economic development.