Nature and Climate Change

 

I am pleased to be attending the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference, the intersessional meetings of the Subsidiary Bodies (SBs) in Bonn, Germany, as part of Moravian University’s observer delegation. The first session I attended filled me with hope and enthusiasm, which is the best way to start an SB or COP.

The session was led by UNFCCC and centered on REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries). To date, REDD+ activities in 17 countries have reduced GHG emissions by over 11 billion tons of CO₂ (Global Stocktake, UN Climate Change, 2023). Parties are asked to enhance these efforts by 2030 and include forest protection goals in their next NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions, or Paris Agreement pledges, for which third updates are due in 2025). As reported in this session, halting deforestation is now embedded in the UNFCCC for the first time, indicating the growing recognition that the forest sector can help countries achieve NDC targets.

One of the speakers also emphasized how far countries and REDD+ have come in the past 15 years or so. In the early days, a lot of assumptions were used in calculations and models, whereas now there are more baselines, datasets, and maps. I have noticed the change in tone of the REDD+-related interventions myself: when I first started listening to REDD+ talks in 2009 and 2010, the sessions were riddled with complaints about the program, while at least at this session in 2024, there were, in effect, celebrations of the program’s effectiveness and success stories.

It was also highlighted that forest protection amounts to millions of dollars in annual revenue for developing countries. In this way, forest protection went from a logistical challenge to an economic asset (though I am sure it is still challenging). There was also a comment that soon coastal nations would be receiving funds from blue carbon projects, including through protection and restoration of seagrasses, marshes, and coral reefs, as blue carbon is being factored into both NDCs and NAPs (National Adaptation Plans). It is wonderful to see nature protection being prioritized for its own value and as a way to achieve climate mitigation and adaptation goals.