Partha Dasgupta | The Value of The World Around Us
Sun 23 Nov 2025 | 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Renowned economist Sir Partha Dasgupta is the Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge. For decades, he has been at the forefront of rethinking the relationship between economics and the natural world.
In On Natural Capital, Partha challenges the very foundations of how we measure prosperity. Traditional models tell us our economies are thriving when they are growing, but they fail to account for the resource on which all growth depends: nature itself. For centuries we have treated the natural world as infinite and free, yet our relentless demand has driven us into a global ecological crisis.
What if we were to put a true value on nature, not just as scenery or backdrop, but as the very capital that underpins our survival? Could this shift in perspective radically transform the way governments, businesses and individuals make decisions? Partha argues that only by integrating ecology with economics can we find a path to sustainability, and ultimately, to saving ourselves.
In conversation with Sian Kevill.
Venue: Old Divinity School
Duration: 1 hour
Tickets available soon.
Author Biography
Sir Partha Dasgupta is the Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Cambridge, a Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge, and the Founding Director of the Darwin-Hamied Centre for Biodiversity and Demography at Christ’s College, Cambridge. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Foreign Member of the US National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. In 2022, he was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the British Empire by His Majesty King Charles III for ‘services to economics and the natural environment.’ He is based in Cambridge.
Chair Biography
Sian Kevill has had a prestigious career as a topflight journalist, editor and programme maker at the BBC where she was Editor of BBC2’s award winning late night current affairs show, Newsnight; before running BBC World News, the BBC’s international news channel. Founder Director of Make Waves, an independent production company specialising in investigative films and international content which has worked with BBC, C4, C5, HBO, A&E, Bloomberg, Channel News Asia, Al Jazeera. During her career, Sian has overseen programmes and documentaries that have won awards from BAFTA, RTS, Monte Carlo, IDFA, ATA as well as a personal award from WITF for her services to UK current affairs. Make Waves is currently promoting their latest award-winning feature documentary on big solutions to climate change called Blue Carbon.
