Nature

Natural climate solutions are the key for the Race to Zero and the Race to Resilience. They can take us beyond net zero, to actually achieve drawdown. With all of the cascading benefits to people and the planet, it is clear that climate finance should support nature-based climate solutions, says Mamta Mehra, Senior Fellow, Land Use & Research Program Officer & Chad Frischmann, Senior Director, Drawdown Solutions, Project Drawdown

Elizabeth Mrema, Executive Secretary, United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity explains why we must put nature at the heart of urban development.

In her poem, 11-year-old Emtithal Mahmoud watches as her neighbour’s home crumbles into flood waters in a country “already locked in turmoil”.

“Scaling up NCS is a crucial step if we are to address these challenges, reach net zero and facilitate the transition to a future where we live well, within planetary boundaries,” argues Giulia Carbone, Director, Natural Climate Solutions Alliance.

“Seen side by side, these two Blue Marbles, taken half a century apart, would bring home the consequences of climate change wordlessly, instantly and globally.” Robert Poole, Professor of History, University of Central Lancashire explains why we need a fresh perspective.

With a remit set out in law to be “the guardian of the interests of future generations in Wales”, Sophie Howe is the world’s only Future Generations Commissioner. At COP26 she discusses how her interventions have secured fundamental changes to land use planning policy, major transport schemes and Government policy on housing – ensuring that decisions taken today are fit for the future.

It’s Nature Day at COP26 and the message is beginning to ring louder that reversing nature loss by 2030 is a requirement for net zero by 2050.

The initiative, with farmers at its heart, will work with over 500 million farmers to apply regenerative production methods and transform agricultural systems, as well as ensure roughly USD $60 billion per year is deployed to finance the transition.

“In the last 12 years, nine of the 13 oldest and five of the six largest baobabs on continental Africa have died. And it looks like climate change is one of the reasons for this,” award winning filmmaker and naturalist Cyrille Cornu.

There is no viable route to limiting global warming to 1.5°C and building resilience without urgently protecting, managing and restoring nature, argues Nature4Climate Coalition Director, James Lloyd.

Burberry has announced a strategy to protect, restore and regenerate nature, which includes expanding support for farming communities, in line with its commitment to become climate-positive by 2040.

“Both Natura and The Body Shop have worked for the last two decades with traditional and indigenous communities on how we can generate a business model that gives more value to the Amazon and other countries around the world.” Keyvan Macedo, Natura & Co. Sustainability Director, explains why the company is aiming for net positive.

Legendary marine biologist, Chair and President of Mission Blue, and National Geographic Explorer, Dr Sylvia Earle explains what it will take to restore the health of our oceans after decades of deep decline.

Ocean-based solutions not only mitigate climate change but play a large role in climate adaptation. Opinion by Project Drawdown’s Emilia Jankowska, Mamta Mehra and Chad Frischmann.

Recognizing the ocean-climate connection and the need for youth calls for ocean and climate action to be amplified, Sustainable Ocean Alliance’s Youth Policy Advisory Council solicited video submissions from young, regional environmental leaders.

A coalition of public and private partners has launched the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) with the ambition to mobilise USD$625 million for coral reef conservation over the next decade.

“We urge you to not neglect the ocean, because without the ocean our fight against the climate crisis would be incomplete and ineffective. We need to come together to protect both land and sea, in a collective manner that will help sustain our planet for the generations to come.”

The High Level Climate Champions and the ocean community have signed the Ocean for Climate Declaration: a call to governments and non-state actors to scale up ocean-based climate solutions and action.

The race is on for private finance towards net-zero emissions by 2050 and new partnerships are set to drive exponential growth in resilience investments.

Regions, cities, investors, businesses and governments are stepping up to build resilience in the most at-risk communities and reverse biodiversity loss within the 2020s.

It’s time we stop focusing so much on the cascade of destruction that climate change may bring, and start talking about the cascading benefits, argues Chad Frischmann, Senior Director, Drawdown Solutions, Project Drawdown.