2020 marks a turning point for nature’s role in climate solutions

(Eco Business, 27 Jan 2020) Global biodiversity talks in China this year will highlight nature-based solutions that could meet one-third of Paris Agreement climate goal by 2030.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are actions to protect and sustainably manage natural ecosystems. They are crucial for rising to numerous social and environmental challenges, especially the climate crisis. 

NBS can mitigate some 12 gigatonnes of CO2 per year, contributing a third of what is needed by 2030 to keep global average temperature rise on course for less than 2C, according to the UN’s Global Compact

This makes them essential to helping countries meet that Paris Agreement target, decarbonise their economies and build resilience in a climate-changed world.

“Many countries and regions are suffering from the impact of climate change and we need to take actions to enhance cooperation to encourage ambition and transparency,” Ma Aimin, deputy director general of China’s National Center for Climate Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC), told the UN’s climate conference in Madrid in December.

China is seeking to build support for NBS as it hosts crunch talks to protect biodiversity, known as COP15, in Kunming later this year. The first draft of a new set of 20 conservation goals, to replace the unmet Aichi targets, was released on January 12 and notes: “Biodiversity, and the benefits it provides, is fundamental to human well-being and a healthy planet.”

NBS feature in a number of the proposed new targets. As well as mitigating around 30 per cent of the carbon emitted into the atmosphere, nature benefits people worldwide by improving nutrition, providing clean water, and contributing to greater resilience against natural disasters, the document says.

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Eco Business, 27 Jan 2020: 2020 marks a turning point for nature’s role in climate solutions