Common economic oversights in green infrastructure valuation

Abstract

Valuation toolkits are supposed to make the valuation of green infrastructure benefits a more simple and accessible task, but there are many barriers which stand in the way of them achieving this. This paper discusses some common economic oversights, associated with double counting, distinct types of value and additionality, which valuation toolkits must avoid to ensure their output is dependable. From this discussion, guidance emerges to help users of valuation toolkits interpret valuation estimates in a meaningful way, and it is concluded that with a good awareness of environmental economic principles, the majority of common issues can be avoided. This conclusion, however, raises the question as to just how accessible a process as complex as green infrastructure valuation can be made to be and places emphasis on the role of toolkit developers who must endeavour to remove as much ambiguity as possible from their methodologies.

Keywords:

• Green infrastructure
• environmental valuation
• valuation toolkit
• double counting
• additionality