The world is facing an unprecedented series of clashing crises and threats, from democratic decline to health to digital disruption. Climate change exacerbates all of these threats and creates new ones. It also does not stop threatening human survival when other crises rear their heads. In the face of the current critical security challenge in Ukraine, it is imperative that strong climate governance does not become sidelined again, as it did in 2020 during the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic. At the G7’s Elmau Summit, the G7 needs to prioritize nature-based solutions for climate change, which can provide up to 37% of climate mitigation benefits and many other ones.[i] It needs to raise its ambition in protecting and restoring forests and peatlands, enhancing green infrastructure in cities, ensuring climate justice by empowering Indigenous Peoples and local communities, avoiding endorsing carbon capture technology and geoengineering, and creating a G7 nature-climate working group to help implement these proposals.
[i] IPBES. (2019). The Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Summary for Policymakers. (pp.18).
