COP 28: World leaders endorse commitments and pledges totalling over $186 million to drive climate action and build momentum for protecting and restoring nature
World leaders unite, pledging financial support, halting deforestation, and fostering partnerships for a sustainable future. Indigenous wisdom and science merge as nations take bold steps towards a greener planet at COP28.
During Nature, Land Use, and Ocean Day at COP28, world leaders endorsed commitments and pledges totaling over $186 million to drive climate action and build momentum for protecting and restoring nature. Many of these commitments focused on forests, mangroves, landscape restoration, nature finance, and the ocean. These landmark commitments reaffirmed that taking near-term action on nature is crucial in achieving the goals set out by the Paris Agreement.
"The UAE, as the COP28 Presidency, has shown a strong commitment to protecting nature by making significant financial investments. Achieving the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030 is not possible without protecting nature, and we need to take urgent action to make real progress by COP30," stated H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana.
Protecting nature can help us reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30 percent, a crucial step towards keeping global warming below 1.5°C. Additionally, nature plays a vital role in mitigating climate-related hazards, such as floods and fires. Preserving nature can also open up new business opportunities worth up to $10 trillion and provide almost 400 million new jobs.
During COP26, world leaders agreed to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. Earlier this year, they adopted the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) to protect 30 percent of the land and ocean by 2030. Achieving these goals largely depends on the investment in and leadership from indigenous communities, who manage around 80 percent of global biodiversity.
María Jose Andrade Cerda, an Indigenous woman from the Kichwa community of Serena, Ecuador, who leads economic and community development in the council of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon, said, "For thousands of years, our people have lived in harmony with nature and observed the behaviour of the biodiversity that surrounds us—the animals, plant life cycles, and water flows.
The COP28 has reminded the world that by bringing science and indigenous knowledge together, we can understand and respect the intricate dance between humanity and nature, which is crucial for our future."
The COP28 Presidency and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), chaired by the People's Republic of China, made a joint statement on the Nature, Land Use, and Ocean Day.
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.
The commitments made during the event build on those made during COP28's World Climate Action Summit (WCAS) on December 2, where $2.5 billion was mobilised to protect and restore nature.
During WCAS, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28, Ms. Al Mubarak, announced that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would contribute $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.
Yesterday's announcements included:
30 countries have become members of the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC), totaling 37 countries and covering more than 60 percent of the world's mangroves. This is an initiative led by the UAE and Indonesia.
21 countries formally endorsed the Mangrove Breakthrough, a collaborative effort between the Global Mangrove Alliance (GMA) and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions that aims to restore and protect 15 million hectares of mangroves globally by 2030 through $4 billion of finance.
The High-Level Ocean Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, now a group of 18 countries, announced its membership in the Organisation of American States, collaborating to achieve a 100 percent sustainable ocean economy.
The Forest Carbon Results and Credits roadmap was launched by 15 governments and outlined a plan to scale investment in forest carbon results and credits, emphasising the significant potential of Forest Carbon markets to scale payments for climate and environmental services.
A Joint Statement from 17 countries called for using sustainable wood in construction.
More than 150 businesses and financial institutions announced plans to set climate and nature targets under the Science-Based Target Network and Science-Based Target International's Forest Land and Agriculture frameworks.
Under these frameworks, businesses agree to increase investments in nature-based solutions and to begin assessing, managing, and disclosing their nature-related impacts, dependencies, risks, and opportunities through the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva and the COP28 Presidency announced a two-year partnership to mobilise new resources and political support for nature on the road to COP30 in Belém.