Carl Obst — Director, IDEEA Group

Carl Obst is a globally recognized leader in natural capital accounting. As a Director at the Institute for the Development of Environmental-Economic Accounting (IDEEA Group), he helps organizations worldwide to measure the value of nature and make informed, sustainable decisions. Carl has played a pivotal role in bridging national and corporate approaches to natural capital accounting, and has been instrumental in reconciling differing valuation perspectives between economists and accountants.

Carl was the lead author and editor of the United Nations’ System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), the international standard in this field. This work built upon his long and extensive career in national accounting, including five years as Head of Australia’s National Accounts at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). He also spent 3 years with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris focusing on developing economic data and sustainable development indicators and, more recently, was the sub-editor specializing in accounting for sustainability and well-being as part of the 2025 System of National Accounts (SNA) update process.

Carl’s contributions have advanced numerous areas within national accounting, particularly concerning accounting for natural resources and ecosystems, but also in areas such as measuring financial output, productivity, capital stock, tourism accounts, and indicators of sustainable development. He continues to advance national accounting ideas across sectors and disciplines, working to develop solutions that integrate environmental and economic data.

Carl has a Bachelor’s (Hons) in Economics and Econometrics from the University of New England (AU), a Master’s in International Law from the Australian National University (AU), and a Master’s in Management, Economics and Politics from the University of St. Andrews (UK).