PAULA DIPERNA is a pioneer and leader at the forefront of finance and climate policy, from the Oval Office to Antarctica, coral reefs to carbon markets. She served as President of CCX International, the world's first expansive emissions trading system to address global warming; President of the Joyce Foundation; and writer for underwater hero, Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Currently, she is Special Advisor to CDP, the world's only integrated environmental disclosure system. DiPerna is a frequent media commentator and public speaker.

Preface vii

1 Michelangelo's Finger: The Pope and the Atmosphere 1

2 Marooned: The Island of Wrong Things Measured 15

3 One of a Kind: The Gamble of Rarity and Price 31

4 Art in a Box: Pricelessness Saves Detroit 39

5 Mangroves and Money: All of Nature Is an Economic Machine 55

6 The Cosmic Penthouse: Carbon Pricing, Carbon Markets 69

7 Dare to Surmount: China Joins the Marathon 103

8 Wall Street to the Rescue? Nauru May Answer 121

9 Never Another Drop: The Flow of Water Markets 151

10 Wildlife and Wonderment: The Rhino Bond 177

11 Premiums to the Coral: Coral Reef Insurance 189

12 Forests as Infrastructure: The Forest Resilience Bond 197

13 Off Limits: The Value of Do Not Touch 213

14 Infinite Value: Return to Rome 241

References 247

Acknowledgments 253

Index 255

"A great overview of impact accountability and measurement and why they are key in meeting our environmental and social challenges." - Sir Ronald Cohen, author, IMPACT

"Pricing the Priceless provides clarity that our measurement, accounting, and capital markets company valuation processes as currently designed are failing humanity in the longer-term. The book provides deep insights into Intangible Capital and specifically the natural capital and eco-system services provided by the planet that are not effectively measured and reported on today. Only by recognizing restorative investments in planetary services that are not properly valued, can leaders ensure financial capital and sustainable capitalism serves humanity. Pricing the Priceless opens the mind to this required new intangible capital measurement system." - Mark Van Clieaf, Managing Director, FutureZero and co-author Net Zero Business Models: Winning in the Global Net Zero Economy

"Pricing the Priceless advances the global conversation about creating a sustainable economy that operates within the limits of the biosphere. Paula DiPerna explores the global economy's dependence on having a free ride on our planet's priceless assets - air, water, natural and mineral resources - a dependence that may render the earth uninhabitable. The book provides hopeful examples of how to leverage the power of capitalism to create an economic system that properly values the earth's resources to reverse humanity's potentially fatal disassociation from its precious planetary home." - John Montgomery, co-author, Net Zero Business Models: Winning in the Global Net Zero Economy, and author, Great from the Start: How Conscious Corporations Attract Success