Authors: Charles Victor Barber, World Resources Institute; Rachael Petersen, Earthrise Services; Virginia Young, Australian Rainforest Conservation Society; Brendan Mackey, Griffith University, Cyril Kormos, Wild Heritage.
The climate change and biodiversity crises that the world faces are closely intertwined – and they cannot be seen in isolation of a pandemic causing a global “vulnerability experience of mankind”. The economic impacts of the pandemic will be severe. Stimulus packages are therefore indispensable – but they need to be based on sustainability and climate action to increase the resilience of our societies.
The economic crisis offers the opportunity to refocus on sustainable transformation and to develop long-term improvements to our economic, social and political systems. Otherwise, any stimulus will prove to be ineffective in the mid- and long-term, and propel the next global crisis. Be it due to immense environmental pollution, massive degradation of biodiversity leading to grave impacts on global food production, water shortages, energy cries, extreme weather events or everything combined.
In addition to the critical reduction of GHG emissions by moving away from fossil fuels, “nature-based solutions” to emissions reductions in forest and land use, and in the ocean – are crucial. If action on climate change explicity and systematically takes biodiversity conservation into account, we can generate synergies and positive feedback loops, with respect to generating political will, mobilizing financial and technical resources, and taking action on the ground. Too often, however, biodiversity and climate change are dealt with in relative isolation, including in how governments and other stakeholders organize themselves to act on these two inextricably-linked issues.
This report contains clear policy recommendations for governments to develop effective solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss that are mutually supportive. While the report and its recommendations are tailored to negotiations at COP-15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UN Climate Change Conference (COP-26), it also makes important recommendations to the G-20, bearing in mind that actions by these 20 countries will set the bar for success.
Making the Water-Energy-Food-Health Nexus and the Climate and Biodiversity Nexus an integral part of the G20 agenda is key. Tovernments should incorporate investments related to these nexus areas in their recovery plans, including sharing best practices and cooperating in international research, especially with regard to the COVID-19 recovery plans. We hope that our list of recommendations in this report can help make recovery plans stronger, and the global approach to the crises we are facing more successful.
Foreword.
You can view (opens in a new tab) or download a PDF version of the report below (60 pages; 7.9MB).
