It Would Cost $11 Per Person To Prevent All Future Extinctions

According to a study published last week by in Science Mag says it would cost the world $80 billion a year, or $11.42 from every person on the planet to prevent all future species extinctions.

The study is intended to support goals and commitments that the world’s governments made to halting extinctions and preserving nature by the year 2020.

According to the researchers, reducing the risk for all currently threatened species would cost between $3.41 billion and $4.76 billion per year over the next decade. “Reducing the risk” refers to taking all species from the “Critically Endangered” status to “Endangered.”

In the press release, Donal McCarthy, an environmental economist, says getting this money wouldn’t harm the world economy: ”The total required is less than 20 percent of annual global consumer spending on soft drinks.” He told the BBC that bankers earned twice this amount in bonuses just last year.

This news comes at a tough time, when governments are strapped for cash and consumers aren’t likely to give up their daily sodas. Let’s just hope that funding comes through before it’s too late. When it comes to species on the edge of extinction, time is critical.