• Reversing nature loss can provide upwards of 30 percent of the mitigation action needed to keep 1.5°C within reach by 2030.
•Several landmark commitments on forests, mangroves, landscape restoration, nature finance, and the ocean were also announced.
Image: FILE
Forests, mangroves, and the ocean are the biggest beneficiaries of the ongoing talks in Dubai after countries mobilised $186.6 million (Sh28 billion) of new financing for nature.
Several landmark commitments on forests, mangroves, landscape restoration, nature finance, and the ocean were also announced.
Razan Al Mubarak, the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28, said there is no path to fulfilling the Paris Agreement and keeping 1.5°C within reach without protecting and restoring nature, land, and the ocean.
“We must work in partnership, especially with the indigenous peoples and local communities who steward these critical assets," Al Mubarak said.
Reversing nature loss can provide upwards of 30 per cent of the mitigation action needed to keep 1.5°C within reach by 2030.
WWF Global Oceans Practice Leader Pepe Clarke said the announcement injects much-needed public and private sector support and finance into the conservation of mangroves.
"We know that these critical ecosystems provide win-win solutions for climate, biodiversity and people. Their protection and restoration generate an excellent return on investment, which is why the mangrove breakthrough is such a powerful tool to deliver impact at scale," Clake said.
Nature also has a crucial role to play in reducing climate-related hazards, such as floods and fires. Nature preservation can also contribute a potential USD $10 trillion worth of new business opportunities and provide almost 400 million new jobs.
At COP26, leaders agreed to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030 and, earlier this year, adopted the Global Biodiversity Framework, to protect 30 per cent of the land and ocean by 2030.
These goals depend on investment in and leadership from indigenous communities, which steward some 80 per cent of global biodiversity.
A key policy outcome of Nature, Land Use, and Ocean Day is a joint statement between the COP28 Presidency and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), chaired by the People’s Republic of China.
The COP28 Joint Statement on Climate, Nature, and People was endorsed by 18 countries that lead climate, nature, and biodiversity partnerships across forests, mangroves, and the ocean.
This signalled a new commitment for countries to coordinate and simultaneously implement their nature and climate strategies.
Commitments made today build on those made during COP28's World Climate Action Summit on December 2, where $2.5 billion was mobilised to protect and restore nature.
During WCAS, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28 the United Arab Emirates will contribute USD $100 million of new finance for nature-climate projects, with an initial $30 million investment in the Ghanaian government’s ‘Resilient Ghana’ plan.
The UAE and Brazil will co-lead a two-year strategic partnership bridging COP28 to COP30.