David Pearce is Professor of Environmental Economics at University College London. He was elected in 1989 to the United Nations ‘Global 500’ Roll of Honour for services to the world environment; he won the Guiseppe Mazzotti prize for literature in 1991 for Blueprint for a Green Economy; was awarded the OBE by Her Majesty the Queen in June 2000 for services to sustainable development, and the degree of D.Sc. Honoris Causa from the University of East Anglia in 2001. He is the author or editor of over 50 books on cost–benefit analysis and environmental economics, and the author or co-author of over 300 papers in learned journals. He was personal Advisor to the UK Secretary of State for the Environment from 1989 to 1992, and has advised governments, international organisations such as the World Bank, UNDP, the UN, OECD, and major corporations worldwide. He is currently preparing a major advanced text in environment and economic development, focusing on developing country issues, along with several other texts.