This year presents a unique opportunity for global leadership in addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation, Simon Stiell (UNFCCC), Astrid Schomaker (CBD), and Ibrahim Thiaw (UNCCD) have said in an op-ed published on the UNFCCC website.
With three crucial COP meetings taking place, in Colombia (on biodiversity), Saudi Arabia (on land usage and drought) and the forthcoming COP29 Climate Change Conference in Azerbaijan, there is an urgent the need for coordinated action to ensure planetary health and human survival, the authors note.
‘The evidence is clear’
“The evidence is clear,” they note. “Up to 40% of land worldwide is degraded. This means land is losing its ability to support life, crops and natural ecosystems, and struggling to cycle water and act as the planet’s second-largest carbon stock after the ocean. The last decade was the hottest on record. An estimated three in four people globally will be affected by drought by 2050. Pollinators, on which a third of the world’s crops rely, are declining at an alarming rate.
“The existential risks facing humanity can, and must, be jointly addressed, recognising that climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation are different expressions of one planetary crisis — a crisis underpinned by the challenges of poverty on the one hand and overconsumption, including the unsustainable exploitation of nature, on the other.”
To address these challenges, the authors argue that the traditional siloed approaches must be replaced with integrated strategies.
“Ecosystem restoration, agrifood systems and renewable energies present vital opportunities to advance all three Rio Conventions and make societies and economies more resilient.”
In addition restoring forests can enhance biodiversity, improve water quality, sequester carbon, and protect against climate-related disasters, they note.
Rethinking agriculture
Moreover, agriculture, which contributes one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, must undergo a transformation. Practices such as regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, and improved irrigation techniques can enhance food security while benefiting ecosystems.
The bottom line is that the ways we are producing food today are undermining the ability to feed humanity tomorrow and to solve the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges,” the authors put it.
“Transforming food systems through sustainable land and water management, regenerative agriculture and a modern bioeconomy is another way to achieve multiple goals at once. Drip irrigation can save up to 50% of the water used in agriculture, for example, while practices like agroforestry enhance soil health, bringing benefits in terms of food and water security and biodiversity.
“We must also invest in future-proofing our food supplies, shifting to less thirsty and more drought-resilient crops.”
Financial support
Elsewhere, the authors emphasis that policy coherence and funding alignment across sectors and scales are crucial. Harmful subsidies for fossil fuels, agriculture, and fishing must be redirected to support sustainable initiatives.
They call on financial institutions to align their projects with goals that tackle climate, land, and biodiversity challenges simultaneously.
“The world’s major development banks must consider the synergies and trade-offs between biodiversity, land and climate, supporting initiatives that advance multiple goals,” they state. “To this day, a project that improves agricultural practices and soil health is unlikely to access funding earmarked for ‘biodiversity’ or ‘climate’, although it contributes to both directly.”
Coordinated action
With this year’s COP meetings providing a platform for increased ambition, the authors call for immediate, coordinated action to cut emissions, conserve natural spaces, and restore degraded lands.
As they put it, “By 2030, we must cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 43% compared to 2019 levels to keep climate warming to 1.5 C above preindustrial levels, while boosting climate resilience. We must conserve 30% of land, waters and seas and restore 1.5 billion hectares of degraded land by 2030.
“2024 must be the year when we scale up ambition and action and commit to this in national plans. Everywhere, for everyone, and all at once — for people and for nature.”
Read the full op-ed here.
