Natural Climate Solutions
Weekly Briefing
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Dear Readers,
Welcome back to Nature4Climate's Weekly Briefing. We are excited to be back with the major stories and events surrounding natural climate solutions for the month of August. Next week, we will share N4C's thoughts about the state of NCS, but for now, we're pleased to note that the case for a Nature Positive Recovery in the wake of the coronavirus has grown stronger over the past month, including with a new report from WRI on a sustainable recovery for Brazil that could restore 12 million hectares, increase agricultural production, and add more than two million jobs. The next month is filled with opportunities to advance nature as a solution to our global climate, economic and health challenges and we hope this newsletter helps keep you engaged.
Lucy Almond, Director and Chair of Nature4Climate
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Featured Events
The UNDP Nature for Life Hub will provide a virtual venue for four days of NCS events during Climate Week NYC. The Hub will take place over four days, host seventeen sessions and covering multiple themes for building greater ambition for NCS. Registration and viewing information to be made available soon; MARK YOUR CALENDARS. Agenda:
Day One: Sept. 24th SDG Day
Day Two: Sept. 25th Business and Finance Day
Day Three: Sept. 28th Global Ambition Day
Day Four: Sept. 29th Local Action Day
Please also note that the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook will be launched on September 15th. The Outlook reports on the status of biological diversity and gives an analysis of the steps being taken by the global community to ensure that biodiversity is conserved and used sustainably, and that benefits arising from the use of genetic resources are shared equitably.
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Featured News
Indonesia secures grant for fighting deforestation
Jakarta Post, A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil, 28 August
The Jakarta Post reports that Indonesia shall receive a $103.8 million REDD+ payment for reduced carbon emissions and deforestation. Climate Home News covers the criticism environmental campaigners had for the REDD+ payments to Indonesia as the country saw increased deforestation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mongabay reports that Indonesia is set to pass an omnibus bill that would weaken forest protection in October. In Northern Ghana, the UN Development Programme announces a $54.5 million project to reduce deforestation. Finally, in other REDD+ news, the FAO announces new grants for agriculture projects to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by preventing deforestation in Côte d'Ivoire, Armenia, and Colombia.
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AP Finds Brazil's Plan to Protect Amazon Has Opposite Effect
Associated Press, Mauricio Savarese, 28 August
The Associated Press reports that "under military command, Brazil’s once-effective but recently declining investigation and prosecution of rainforest destruction by ranchers, farmers and miners has come to a virtual halt, even as this year’s burning season picks up." Reuters shares that the environment ministry backtracked statements made August 28th that forest protection operations would halt due to a block on funding. The Financial Times reports that Brazil's government opened up the Amazon to private corporations to invest in conservation under new investment funds. The Independent covers a new report showing global fires are up 13% compared to 2019. Global Witness releases a report identifying 2019 as the deadliest year for Forest Defenders.
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UK companies face fines for links to illegal deforestation
Financial Times, Laura Hughes and Emiko Terazono, 24 August
The Financial Times reports that ministers in the UK have launched a six-week consultation on new measures which would make it illegal for businesses in the country above a certain size to use commodities grown on land which has been deforested illegally. BBC shares information on how UK consumers contribute to global deforestation. The Guardian covers UK supermarket Tesco's call for the UK government to ensure all UK food is deforestation-free in response to Greenpeace campaign.
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Preserving Trees Becomes Big Business, Driven by Emissions Rules
The Wall Street Journal, Ryan Dezember, 24 August
The Wall Street Journal reports on how energy giants such as BP are betting that the market for preserving forests will become lucrative. In another piece of reporting, the Financial Times covers how the EU’s ‘green’ recovery plan has driven up the price of carbon credits amid warnings that speculators stand to gain. In other finance-related NCS news, Reuters and others report that HSBC Global Asset Management has teamed up with the Pollination Group to form HSBC Pollination Climate Asset Management, which seeks to raise $1 billion in its first year for natural capital projects. And Fast Company and Bloomberg both carry articles on the next big trend for corporate sustainability: offsetting past emissions.
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US officially joins global trillion tree planting initiative
The Hill, Rachel Frazin, 27 August
The Hill and others report that the U.S. is officially participating in a global program that aims to plant 1 trillion trees worldwide, following the launch of the U.S. chapter of 1T.org. Reuters reports that the chapter's goal is to plant over 800 million trees by 2030. Additional reporting in Fast Company. The Philadelphia Inquirer compares the recently proposed legislation to develop a new Civilian Conservation Corps and reveals the benefits the 1930's program still provides Pennsylvania to this day.
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SOME GOOD NEWS
The Guardian shares a new study that found children who grew up in greener urban environments had higher IQs and lower levels of difficult behavior, regardless of wealth. BusinessGreen covers brewery Brewdog's announcement that it has been certified as 'carbon negative,' offsetting double the carbon emissions from its operations, energy use, and supply chain.
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STAT OF THE WEEK
c
13
Percent
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The increase in global fires in 2020 compared to 2019.
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The NDCs We Want
The World Wildlife Fund has released a new tracker for countries' NDCs. This tracker covers every sector of GHG emissions, identifies best practices, and encourages greater ambition. To start learning how newly announced NDCs stack up, check out the checklist and see the tracker results here.
WWF has also released a new report today, Enhancing NDCs for Food Systems, that finds by adding food systems to national climate plans policymakers can improve their mitigation and adaptation contributions by as much as 25 percent. |
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Featured Commentary
Reflections on 2020 from a Nature Campaigner
Nature4Climate, Joanna Benn, 26 August
Joanna Benn, Director of Communications for Global Projects at The Nature Conservancy, reflects on progress we can still make despite COVID-19 upending the planned "super-year" for nature.
‘By destroying nature we destroy ourselves’
The Telegraph, Paul Polman, 10 August
Former CEO of Unilever and Global Commission co-chair Paul Polman writes that the loss of nature has unlivable costs, but its restoration has boundless dividends.
Why We Believe Planting 1 Trillion Trees Can Save the Planet
Time, Jane Goodall and Marc Benioff, 27 August
Renowned environmentalist Jane Goodall and Marc Benioff, chair and CEO of Salesforce, explain why the Trillion Trees Initiative could be a game-changer for climate action.
Banks responsible for continuing deforestation in Southeast Asia
Eco-Business, Gulzhan Musaeva, 11 August
Gulzhan Musaeva, a financial analyst, highlights the powerful positions banks have to influence forest-risk companies that rely heavily on debt-financing for their operations.
Why we need to talk about orangutans, not just climate change
Evening Standard, Rohan Silva, 27 August
Rohan Silva argues that our focus on advocating for nature needs to put our relationship with and dependence upon other species first as a zero-emissions world could still be uninhabitable without sustainable biodiversity.
This is how the US - and the world - can win from reforestation
World Economic Forum, Jad Daley and Justin Adams, 27 August
Jad Daley, President and CEO of American Forests, and Justin Adams, Executive Director of the Tropical Forest Alliance, write a letter highlighting how the US Chapter of the Trillion Trees Initiative can stimulate the economy and American leadership on climate.
Communities, conservation, and development in the age of COVID: Time for rethinking approaches
Mongabay, M.I. Brown; B. Allgood; J. Waugh; R. Martino; S. Cheng; C.C. Kelman; & A.L. Porzecanski, 31 August
Michael Brown of Satya Development International, Beth Allgood of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, and a number of co-authors argue that the Covid-19 pandemic affords an opportunity for conservation to evolve away from underperforming business-as-usual approaches.
Brazil Can Have a Green Economic Recovery
US World & News Report, Caio Koch-Weser, 25 August
Caio Koch-Weser is former vice chairman of Deutsche Bank Group, explains that the tools to enable a green Brazilian economic recovery already exist and provide more benefits.
Fashion brands using carbon-offsetting may as well be rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic – renewables are the only option
The Independent, Sophie Benson, 21 August
Sustainable fashion journalist Sophie Benson argues that the findings of a new report from Stand.earth shows the fashion industry can't rely upon offsets to meet climate goals.
Use nature to fight climate change
Washington Examiner, Rep. Bruce Westerman and Quill Robinson, 27 August
Arkansas Rep. Bruce Westerman and Quill Robinson, VP of Gov. Affairs at the American Conservation Coalition, write about the benefits of natural climate solutions for rural communities.
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Brazilian Cattle and Deforestation
Two new reports from Chain Reaction Research provide a comprehensive picture of how the cattle industry is fueling the record-breaking deforestation occurring in Brazil. The project's mission of providing free sustainability risk analysis has demonstrated that deforestation and other ESG factors create significant financial risks, and no sector is more affected than the Brazilian cattle industry.
Brazilian Beef Supply Chain Under Pressure Amid Worsening ESG Impacts analyzes the cattle supply chain responsible for 80 percent of Amazon forest clearing, and assesses the new political economy and emerging legislative context that is driving its change.
JBS: Outsized Deforestation in Supply Chain, COVID-19 Pose Fundamental Business Risks reviews the financial risks Brazil's largest meatpacking company faces from deforestation, COVID-19, and other ESG factors that threaten $1.3 billion in profits for the company.
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Media Round-Up
Natural Climate Solutions and Nature4Climate Partners
Learning from the contentious history of ‘carbon removal’
Carbon Brief, Dr. Wim Carton and Prof. Jens Friis Lund, 27 August
The Thai government wanted to pave paradise, but this forest community said no
Channel News Asia, Jack Board, 25 August
The Simple Economics of Saving the Amazon Rain Forest (Ep. 428)
Freakonomics, Steven Levitt, 29 July
Green on-trend: Top fashion and food firms test ways to nurture nature
Reuters, Megan Rowling, 25 August
Office furniture giant Steelcase sets 2030 'carbon negative' goal
Business Green, Michael Holder, 26 August
Double materiality: Why nature risk and climate risk are two sides of the same coin
Business Green, Michael Holder, 26 August
New jurisdictional REDD standard may generate offsets in 2021
Carbon Pulse, 26 August
Indigenous best Amazon stewards, but only when property rights assured: Study
Mongabay, Sue Branford, 17 August
Deforestation
Loss of biodiversity through the destruction of the world's forests will 'unleash more pandemics' scientists warn
The Daily Mail, Kate Dennett, 30 August
Mapping environmental crime seen as key to slowing Amazon forest losses
Reuters, Mauricio Angelo, 30 August
‘Meaningless certification’: Study makes the case against ‘sustainable’ palm oil
Mongabay, Hans Nicholas Jong, 5 August
Can we predict where Amazon fires will occur? And to what end?
Mongabay, Liz Kimbrough, 21 August
Arctic wildfires emit 35% more CO2 so far in 2020 than for whole of 2019
The Guardian, Tobi Thomas, 31 August
A New Tool for Tracking Amazon Fires
Earth Observatory, 16 August
Turning the Tide on the Relentless Destruction of Cambodia’s Forests
Yale Environment 360, Sean Gallagher, 25 August
‘Next fire season is already upon us’: NSW to adopt all recommendations of bushfire inquiry report
The Guardian, Lisa Cox, 25 August
Company investigated for timber trafficking gets stimulus from Peru government
Mongabay, Yvette Sierra Praeli, 25 August
In Cambodia, a sweeping new environment code languishes in legal limbo
Mongabay, Andrew Nachemsom, 26 August
Fight rages on to save centuries-old giant Philippine rosewood tree
Mongabay, Bong S. Sarmiento , 26 August
HSBC sounds alarm over investment in meat giant due to deforestation inaction
The Guardian, Andrew Wasley and Alexandra Heal, 12 August
Tesco Urged to Cut Ties With Meat Supplier Over Amazon Deforestation
Bloomberg, Jess Shankleman, 4 August
Reforestation
The search engine boss who wants to help us all plant trees
BBC, Suzanne Bearne, 31 August
Woodland carbon guarantee: Latest £10m tree planting auction set for autumn
BusinessGreen, Michael Holder, 21 August
Tree planting can help tropical forests ‘recover 50% faster’ from logging
Carbon Brief, Daisy Dunne, 13 August
US cities are spending millions on trees to fight heat – but are their plans equitable?
The Guardian, Valerie Yurk, 26 August
100,000 jobs to be created with tree planting initiative - Mahama promises
GhanaWeb, 9 August
The ultimate restoration project: Rescuing ecosystems for a diversity of users
Irish Times, Yvonne Buckley, 27 August
Plantation norms for highway projects relaxed
Hindustan Times, Jayashree Nandi, 27 August
NITI Aayog plans private partnerships to revive India’s degraded forests
The Print, Sanya Dhingra, 27 August
Sustainable Forestry
Are forests the new coal? Global alarm sounds as biomass burning surges
Mongabay, Justin Catanoso, 31 August
Estonia’s ‘holy forests’ threatened by demand for biofuels
National Geographic, Saul Elbein, 24 August
Entrepreneur aims to plant a billion trees to create local jobs in Cameroon
UN-REDD Programme, 26 August
Negative Emissions Technologies
Artificial leaves make green energy with just water, sunlight and CO2
The Sunday Times, Rhys Blakely, 25 August
Climeworks ramps up air capture CO2 ambitions as it inks Icelandic partnership
Business Green, Toby Hill, 27 August
Agriculture and Soil Health
One Brazilian farmer tried – and failed – to ranch more responsibly in the Amazon
Reuters, Stephen Eisenhammer, 28 August
'Historical underestimation': Nitrogen fertiliser 'overlooked' driver of climate change, Soil Association warns
Business Green, Toby Hill, 21 August
On the country's largest farm, more soy cattle turn to less carbon - and cheaper credit
Capital Reset, Natalia Viri, 21 August
Iowa researchers see wasted potential in agricultural biofuels
Energy News Network, Karen Uhlenhuth, 25 August
Australia’s farmers want more climate action – and they’re starting in their own (huge) backyards
The Conversation, Richard Eckard, 20 August
Wetlands
Mangrove plantations at Vashi bridge: Maharashtra environment minister assures support
Times of India, Sanjay Banerjee, 25 August
Oil from Japanese ship that ran aground off Mauritius could kill mangrove forests
South China Morning Post, Kyodo, 26 August
UNEP supports project to restore peatlands in Indonesia
UN-REDD Programme, 13 August
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Chadwick Boseman on Nature and Society
At the age of 43, Chadwick Boseman's passing came as a shock to many and made waves in international media. His onscreen performances often had the common themes of overcoming adversity and using power wisely. We wish to share an interview with Mr. Boseman that revealed these themes were essential to his character and hope that they can help inspire all of us to continue fighting for wise use of our power on this planet.
The full interview from 2017 can be read here.
"Chadwick Boseman" by Gage Skidmore is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ |
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New Science, Research, Policy and Tools
Improved Climate Action on Food Systems Can Deliver 20% of Global Emissions Reductions Needed by 2050
WWF, August 2020
Civil society increasingly shapes forest laws in the Mekong region
RECOFTC, August 2020
Fair contributions versus fastest possible reductions
New Climate Institute, August 2020
Science Must Embrace Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge to Solve Our Biodiversity Crisis
One Earth, August 2020
Fires, forests and the future: a crisis raging out of control?
WWF, August 2020
Global forest restoration and the importance of empowering local communities
Science News, August 2020
‘Best of the last’ tropical forests urgently need protection - joint study by UNDP, NASA and WCS
United Nations Development Programme, August 2020
80 per cent of Indonesian rainforest vulnerable to palm oil destruction is not protected
The University of Sheffield, August 2020
The Plan for a 100 Percent Clean Future Must Include Saving Nature
Center for American Progress, August 2020
The climate change mitigation potential of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage
Nature, August 2020
Ratcheting up Corporate Action To Manage Deforestation In Soy And Cattle Supply Chains
CDP and NWF, August 2020
The concept and future prospects of soil health
Nature, August 2020
Quantifying net loss of global mangrove carbon stocks from 20 years of land cover change
Nature, August 2020
New Guinea has the world’s richest island flora
Nature, August 2020
Towards Sustainable and Productive Management of Indonesian Peatlands
Earth Innovation Institute, August 2020
Palm oil crushers and refiners: Managing deforestation risk through a supply chain bottleneck
ZSL SPOTT, August 2020
Brazilian Beef Supply Chain Under Pressure Amid Worsening ESG Impacts
Chain Reaction Research, August 2020
Nature-based solutions to the climate emergency: The benefits to business and society
The Ignition Project, August 2020
European Banks Financing Trade of Amazon Oil to the U.S.
Stand.earth, August 2020
Land use change leads to increased flooding in Indonesia
Science Daily, August 2020
A New Economy For a New Era: Elements for Building a More Efficient and Resilient Economy in Brazil
WRI Brasil, August 2020
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Lucy Almond, Director and Chair of Nature4Climate
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