Taking Nature into Account

Published 1995 – Indicators used to direct economic policy (GDP, national income etc.) are based on a number of factors but nowhere in their calculation is there an acknowledgement of the degradation of natural resources. The numbers may look good, but continued deterioration of the environment is leading us closer to crises; meanwhile, policymakers and the public are basing decisions on dangerously incomplete information.

In Taking Nature into Account, a number of the world’s leading experts make the ethical, historical, economic and ecological arguments for including environmental factors when measuring fiscal health. Initiated by The Club of Rome and written in cooperation with the WWF, the report reviews existing methodologies and makes recommendations for adjusting the way we think about and measure the economy.

Author: Wouter Van Dieren

Available at Springer Amazon

Also available at Amazon

Other Publications

A History of the Club of Rome

A History of the Club of Rome

26 February 2026 - This publication revisits the history of the Club of Rome from its founding in 1968 to the present day. Drawing on archival research and interviews with long-standing members, it traces how the organisation evolved through moments of global...

The End of Population Growth

The End of Population Growth

09 February 2026 - The era of population growth is ending - and societies are unprepared, argues Ugo Bardi in this report to the Club of Rome. In The End of Population Growth, systems scientist and author Ugo Bardi argues that population decline is likely to begin...

Rewiring finance for transformative innovation

Rewiring finance for transformative innovation

04 December 2025 - This report, developed with the EIB Institute, sets out how Europe can reconfigure finance to support transformative innovation – the kind needed to respond to interconnected ecological, social and economic crises. It argues that today’s financial...

Club of Rome Logo