Experts emphasize the urgent need for global leaders to seize a crucial opportunity to create an integrated strategy for addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. If these challenges are approached separately, efforts to resolve one could unintentionally hinder progress on the other.
Experts stress the importance of global leaders utilizing a crucial opportunity to develop an integrated strategy for combating climate change along with biodiversity loss, according to scientists from ZSL and York University. Ignoring this could lead to conflicts in progress when addressing one issue, negatively impacting the other.
In a paper released today (Tuesday, July 23) in the Journal of Applied Ecology, contributors from the international conservation organization ZSL and researchers from York University, Toronto, propose a concept titled ‘The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement need a joint work programme for climate, nature, and people.’ This framework outlines how a combined initiative could be crafted between the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
The publication emphasizes the essential objectives for the joint initiative and recommends strategies for successful implementation. It argues that a unified political tool is crucial to fulfill global obligations under both the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Co-author and ZSL’s Institute of Zoology researcher, Professor Nathalie Pettorelli, has been advocating for cohesive solutions to climate change and biodiversity challenges. She stated: “We urgently need an all-encompassing approach that addresses the nature and climate crises together, as they are deeply interconnected.
“While the UNFCCC and CBD offer fantastic platforms for guiding necessary changes, they need greater integration between the biodiversity and climate change frameworks to close the implementation gap.”
“The upcoming Conferences of the Parties of the UNFCCC and CBD provide a notable opportunity for both conventions to establish a formal governance structure that can unify ideas, people, organizations, and processes essential for jointly tackling climate stabilization and nature recovery.”
Later this year, world leaders will gather for two significant global conventions aimed at separately addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. In October, the CBD will convene in Colombia for the 16th United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16). Following this will be the UNFCCC meeting in Azerbaijan in November for the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29).
Nathalie further noted: “With the parallel agendas of the upcoming UNFCCC and CBD COPs, negotiators have a unique chance to take coordinated, bold, and transformative steps towards a more unified approach to the intertwined nature and climate crises. The urgency is profound — both conventions need to collaborate now and leverage the potential synergies identified between climate change and biodiversity policies to shift humanity towards sustainable practices.”
During COP16, governmental representatives will review the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022, which sets forth a vision for people to coexist harmoniously with nature by 2050 — including objectives to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Discussions at COP29 will be crucial for advancing the historic global treaty established under the Paris Agreement to limit temperature rises to 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels.
The connection between climate change and biodiversity loss is undeniable; rapidly changing environments lead to species extinction and ecosystem degradation worldwide — yet healthy ecosystems are essential for combating climate change and alleviating its consequences.
Professor Idil Boran, another co-author and researcher at York University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, stated: “The current global scenario presents a critical juncture. World leaders have committed to international treaties to address these two urgent crises, but there exists a significant gap in the tools required to unify these efforts. We need a framework that addresses these gaps, identifies where climate actions might negatively impact biodiversity, offers straightforward recommendations, and develops methods for tracking progress on collective goals.
“If we fail to act in harmony, there is a risk that resolving one crisis could lead to significant setbacks for the other. For instance, replacing natural grasslands with forests could aid in capturing greenhouses gases but at the expense of the ecosystems and wildlife that depended on those grasslands.”
Effective Nature-based Solutions (NbS) — which are natural methodologies helping to meet societal goals — can simultaneously address climate change and biodiversity loss while also providing positive outcomes for communities. For example, restoring mangrove habitats not only captures carbon but also protects species such as the Endangered Bengal tiger and the Critically Endangered Philippine cockatoo, in addition to offering resources for local populations.
The paper also highlights the critical need to reallocate resources to bridge funding imbalances between climate change efforts and initiatives aimed at biodiversity preservation.
Nathalie remarked: “Leaders around the world must prioritize nature in their decision-making processes. Healthy ecosystems are vital not only for confronting swift climate changes but their loss affects every facet of our lives, including food security and access to clean water. Recognition of this reality is essential, and conservation efforts must be adequately resourced to become integral to tackling climate change and enhancing human wellbeing.”
ZSL’s ongoing campaigns for a brighter future encompass restoration projects, such as reviving mangrove forests in the Philippines, covering an area larger than 1,000 football fields, and advocating for the rewilding of urban areas to shield city dwellers from severe climate impacts, reflecting their broader mission for critical action to secure an improved future for both people and the planet.
ZSL is confident that nature can rebound and that conservation efforts are most effective when driven by scientific principles. They call for science-based decision-making in global environmental and biodiversity strategies to foster a healthier future for wildlife, humanity, and our planet. To learn more and to support ZSL’s pioneering collaborative scientific and conservation initiatives, visit www.zsl.org.
