STAGES on the road to COP26: Adaptation wrap-up

In the run-up to COP26, the IES has been hosting a number of discussions and events exploring six key themes in our STAGES on the road to COP26.

Our third theme was on adaptation, and in particular, the fundamental role of nature-based solutions in meeting climate ambitions, restoring ecosystems and protecting biodiversity. We explored the role of nature-based solutions in a number of different contexts, highlighting the diverse ways that restoring ecosystems and promoting nature can address societal challenges, from promoting healthy soils to ensuring a just transition.

Our final event was a panel discussion held in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) and the Royal Society of Biology (RSB). The event featured four expert panellists who explored the role of nature-based solutions in the upcoming COP15 for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and COP26 for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Watch the presentations

Key ideas to take away from the panel event

The discussion sought to place nature-based solutions within the wider context of sustainability and provided diverse insights into climate, nature and the connection between them. Discussion was wide-ranging, but a number of key principles were highlighted as critical to ensuring nature-based solutions are utilised effectively.

Nature-based solutions: From rhetoric to reality

Research has shown that nature-based solutions can provide 37% of the climate mitigation needed to meet the Paris Agreement goal. Despite their significant impact, currently only 3% of climate finance goes into nature-based solutions. This starkly highlights the gap between the political rhetoric surrounding their use and the reality of implementing these solutions on the ground. Securing financial commitments at the two COPs will be vital for the successful implementation of nature-based solutions.

The UK Government will have a key role to play in the months leading up to COP15 and COP26 in securing ambitious action. The government should lead by example through new targets and commitment of resources, including finance. Pressure must also be maintained on the government to ensure national legislation is put in place to support commitments.

A move towards multi functionality

Climate change and biodiversity are inextricably linked. This means that we can no longer seek to address them separately. We must move to promoting multifunctional nature-based solutions with multiple benefits for nature and people. This will require a move towards holistic, systems-level thinking allowing for the development of interconnected policy agendas to address the climate and biodiversity crises. This means ensuring that nature-based solutions are designed so that their benefits are maximised and move beyond providing a tick-box solution to a specific issue.

Supporting action on the ground

Leadership for climate and biodiversity action is needed at all levels: individual, local, regional, national and international. Making information accessible and ensuring vertical integration of policies will be key to supporting the development of this leadership.

Local authorities are often on the frontline of delivering climate and biodiversity action yet are plagued by issues of underfunding and under resourcing. Local authorities need to be supported through sufficient resources, including the sharing of best practice.

One size does not fit all

Tailored approaches to climate and biodiversity action should be implemented that consider the unique conditions of each location. Effective land management is needed for nature-based solutions to be utilised in areas where they are likely to have the most benefit. Land management approaches are also an important part of ensuring that different land types maximise their carbon storage and sequestration abilities.

Panellists agreed that we need to move beyond the question of land sparing vs land sharing, with both being needed in different contexts. Integrating natural systems within our urban and agricultural settings can have a large, aggregated impact and should be used in combination with more traditional nature conservation techniques.

Reframing our relationship with nature

We should no longer see climate and biodiversity action as the remit of select policymakers and environmental professionals. All levels of society need to reacquaint themselves with their place within nature so that we can recognise investment in nature as investment in our own wellbeing, and widen our understanding of the value of nature.

Environmental professionals will be integral to this; the environmental sector will become more closely integrated with all other sectors and industries in the coming years. How an environmental professional is defined is likely to evolve and expand, and environmental scientists will be working with an even more diverse range of organisations and people. This will require a reduction in siloed working and a greater understanding of the environmental principles affecting everyone's work. Embedding sustainability principles within our curricula will also help ensure that our future generations have a greater understanding of our place within the wider global ecosystem.

Systems-level thinking is key

Nothing has highlighted more strongly than the COVID-19 pandemic the ways in which human health and wellbeing are intimately connected to nature. Research has shown that ecosystem degradation results in much higher likelihoods of zoonotic disease outbreaks, like COVID-19, bringing into focus the dependence we have on natural systems. Nature-based solutions seek to recognise and build-upon this reliance, allowing us to address societal challenges in a way that is in sync with the natural world and protects biodiversity. This in turn, will help rebuild robust and resilient ecosystems that provide us with the myriad ecosystem services we need to survive. By placing climate action within the wider agenda of protecting the natural world we will be able to take advantage of the synergies between them. Designing multifunctional nature-based solutions will be a fundamental part of this.

Nature-based solutions are not a panacea. They will need to be done in tandem with other climate mitigation and adaptation methods. However, they provide a unique opportunity to align climate action and biodiversity action in a complementary way. They are, therefore, an integral part of achieving climate ambitions and supporting widespread ecosystem restoration, provided they are underpinned by a shift in the ways we work.

We must move towards holistic, systems-level thinking which seeks to address the challenges facing our society in a joined-up way. Promoting systems-level thinking is the only way that we will be able to maximise the synergies and minimise the trade-offs between the climate and biodiversity agendas.

What next?

The next theme of our work on the STAGES on the Road to COP26 will be looking at Green Society, in which we will be exploring how society will need to be supported in the green transition through the provision of net zero skills and knowledge. Register your place for upcoming events in this theme using the following links:

From analysis archive

Analysis: IES Webinar: Sustainable soil remediation: Seeking alternatives

Analysis: The scientific method of the future