Topic description and stories

Economic benefits of protecting nature now outweigh those of exploiting it

08 Mar 2021

The largest study of its kind finds that in most cases economic value is higher when habitats are conserved or restored, rather than converted to...

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Central Leeds during the first UK lockdown

First COVID-19 lockdown cost UK hospitality and high street £45 billion in turnover, researchers estimate

18 Feb 2021

However, UK supermarkets and online retailers made an additional £4 billion each thanks to the coronavirus lockdown that began in March last year...

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Dasgupta Review: Nature’s value must be included in economics to preserve biodiversity

02 Feb 2021

Nature is a “blind spot” in economics that can no longer be ignored by the accounting systems that dictate national finances, according to a major...

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Green recovery must end the reign of GDP, argue Cambridge and UN economists

15 Dec 2020

The University helps the United Nations launch a new 'Ecosystem Accounting' framework: allowing governments to better include and reflect nature in...

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A lone walker in a shopping district of Leeds, UK, during lockdown.

No country ‘immune’ to COVID-19 economic shock, but Asian nations will bounce back faster

02 Dec 2020

Study uses 40 years of quarterly data to forecast a lengthy global recession resulting from coronavirus, with the manufacturing bases of China and...

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Iowa County Drought

Globalised economy making water, energy and land insecurity worse: study

26 Oct 2020

The first large-scale study of the risks that countries face from dependence on water, energy and land resources has found that globalisation may be...

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Electric car charging in Birmingham city centre

Green COVID-19 recovery packages can boost economic growth and tackle climate change, researchers say

05 May 2020

Researchers find long-term, climate-friendly stimulus policies are often superior in overall economic impact – not just in slowing global warming.

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A reporter takes a photo of Donald Trump during a White House coronavirus briefing in April

Economic damage could be worse without lockdown and social distancing – study

29 Apr 2020

The worst thing for the economy would be not acting at all to prevent disease spread, followed by too short a lockdown, according to research based...

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Chef in Soho, London.

Women bear brunt of coronavirus economic shutdown in UK and US

21 Apr 2020

New data shows women and people who did not go to university are more likely to have lost work and earnings since mid-March.

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A deserted Grand Via, in the heart of Madrid, a week after the lockdown started.

Economic activity has halved during Spain’s coronavirus lockdown, study suggests

15 Apr 2020

Almost one and a half billion spending transactions reveal 'real-time' reactions of consumers in a major western economy during the nation’s peak...

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Closed signs

Younger workers hit harder by coronavirus economic shock in UK and US

03 Apr 2020

Those on low incomes are also more likely to have lost jobs or pay, and less able to complete work tasks from home. Researchers warn the COVID-19...

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Opinion: United we stand, divided we fall

25 Mar 2020

Our interdependent economy means the COVID-19 pandemic will cause unavoidable short term pain, but presents important choices about the long term...

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