Global economic growth will take big hit due to loss of nature

Damage to environment could wipe 368bn a year from growth by 2050 and UK will be hard hit, WWF warns

Loss of nature will wipe 368bn a year off global economic growth by 2050 and the UK will be the third-worst hit, with a 16bn annual loss, according to a study by the World Wildlife Fund.

Without urgent action to protect nature, the environmental charity warned that the worldwide impact of coastal erosion, species loss and the decline of natural assets from forests to fisheries could cost a total of almost 8tn over the next 30 years.