Nature’s Key Role in Addressing the Climate Crisis
The Campaign for Nature’s Brian O’Donnell wrote the following article for the Foundations Platform F20. An excerpt is provided below; please click HERE to read the full article .
In June of this year, world-leading climate and biodiversity scientists from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released an incredibly important report following the first-ever collaboration between these two intergovernmental bodies. Their main recommendation was clear: we cannot solve the climate or biodiversity crises in isolation.
Nature plays a critical, and all too often underappreciated, role in regulating the world’s climate. Recent reports estimate that Nature-based solutions (NbS) could provide about one-third of the greenhouse gas mitigation needed to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement between now and 2030.
Certain “carbon dense” areas and ecosystems are of special importance in prioritizing locations for Nature-based solutions to climate change. Most discussions about the intersection of climate and nature focus on protecting forests, and with good reason. As the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) points out, forests are a stabilizing force for the climate: “Forests’ role in climate change is two-fold. They act as both a cause and a solution for greenhouse gas emissions. Around 25% of global emissions come from the land sector, the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions after the energy sector. About half of these (5-10 GtCO2e annually) comes from deforestation and forest degradation. Forests are also one of the most important solutions to addressing the effects of climate change. Approximately 2.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide…is absorbed by forests every year.”
In its Nexus Report, F20, Campaign for Nature and the SEE Foundation recommend a focus on “primary forests” which not only are critical for climate, but are massively important for safeguarding biodiversity. Despite their critical role in climate solutions, forests are under immense pressure. Deforestation in Brazil, home to much of the Amazon rainforest, has reached its highest level in a decade. If current deforestation rates continue, scientists predict a “tipping point” for the Amazon within the next decade. This would lead to catastrophic consequences for biodiversity and the world’s climate.