The annual gathering of global leaders known colloquially as Davos has been over for a few weeks. While attendees assessed the risks likely to batter the world economy in coming months and years, the World Economic Forum told us environmental threats dominate the list for the third year in row – both in terms of impact and likelihood.
“It’s too hard and too uncertain,” has long been the response of policymakers and investors in response to working on ways to conserve and improve carbon in soil. But, recent new momentum summarised in a paper in Nature Sustainability and authored by actors from government, science and the private sector offers hope in the form of technical, policy and financial opportunities for rapid progress.
Just five percent of the world’s land mass is untouched by human activity, according to a new study, highlighting the need to protect areas other than pristine wilderness. Researchers from The Nature Conservancy found 95 percent of the world’s land area, excluding Antarctica, had been modified by people. The study, published in the journal Global Change Biology, suggests the degree to which land is affected by human activity is higher than previously reported.
UNDP’s Administrator Achim Steiner says on the 10th Anniversary of UN-REDD and the second week of the UN Climate meeting in Poland, nature has provided us with a powerful and free force to fight climate change – our forest. It’s time to allow them to realize their full potential.
This has been an alarming year for climate change effects. Wildfires scorched California, hurricanes took heavy tolls and coral reefs are dying. In the face of these natural disasters, greenhouse gas emissions, the main driver of climate change, aren’t decreasing. A commentary on the report, published this week by Christiana Figueres comes as countries gather this week and next for the UN climate talks (COP 24) in Poland.
Today (December 5th) is World Soil Day. Businesses are built on soil. That’s because soils underpin value chains by supporting crop productivity, biodiversity and livelihoods and they play a crucial role in two of the top business risks: water crises and climate change. If we are to have sustainable businesses, economies and societies, they will, and can only be built on healthy soils.
As UN Climate talks kick off this week in Poland, it’s clear that delivering on the Paris Agreement requires action on natural climate solutions alongside efforts on energy, industry, buildings and transport. If we are to unlock natural climate solutions, as with all sectors of the economy, negotiators at COP24 need to agree clear guidance for governments to follow, known as the Paris rule book.
Mangroves can store three to four times more carbon on an area basis than most terrestrial forests. Not only that, mangroves store soil carbon for centuries to millennia. In Gabon, a true Eden of Africa, Gabon’s ocean waters and its pristine forests make up one of the most spectacular and environmentally intact coastlines in the world. It is also one where mangroves abound.
N4C’s spokespeople responded to two landmark climate moments. Climate finance continues to be the central issue in how the global community proposes to follow through with implementation of the Paris Agreement. In addition, the European Union announced its aim to become the world’s first climate neutral economy by 2050.
Are you attending COP24 this year in Katowice, Poland? If so, be sure to visit these natural climate solution events that Nature4Climate, partners and supporters are hosting.