High-Level Panel on Nature-based Solutions & Climate Change | Geneva Nature-based Solutions Dialogues

We are facing a triple planetary crisis – climate change, nature loss and pollution. In this context, Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are a powerful ally to address a societal and environmental challenges. As per IUCN definition, NbS are actions to protect, sustainably manage and restore natural or modified ecosystems that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits.

Within the Paris Agreement, countries have engaged themselves in the creation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), aiming to embody their efforts to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. NbS can be part of these actions as it provides various solutions to mitigate climate change effects. Nature has indeed an immense restorative power and offers some of the most cost-effective climate solutions. By working with nature, we have the potential to reduce emissions by more than a third of what is needed by 2030.

NbS also offer a pathway for synergies among several multilateral environmental agreements, including for biological diversity (CBD), climate change (UNFCCC), disaster risk reduction (Sendai Framework), desertification (UNCCD) and the wider Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – and for mainstreaming nature conservation into sectoral decision-making processes.

In the lead-up to a critical year for nature and society, NbS offer an opportunity to address a wide range of urgent societal challenges. The upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in November 2021 is one of the major conferences that could mark a turning point towards a resilient world for future generations.

Join the Geneva Environment Network and the International Union for Conservation of Nature in a one-year journey, where experts from all over the world and different sectors will discuss throughout the year how NbS are relevant to various debates ongoing in Geneva.