WWF World Wildlife Federation

WHAT IS ONE THING WE’RE NOT TALKING ABOUT IN SUSTAINABILITY THAT WE SHOULD BE?

We are facing a double crisis of biodiversity loss and climate change, which will take a ‘whole of society’ approach to tackle. This includes working together with, and leadership from Indigenous Peoples and local communities, who are a cornerstone of conservation, and are stewards of many of the world’s most biodiverse areas. Indigenous peoples and local communities manage at least 24% of the total above-ground carbon stored in the world’s tropical forests. By learning from and working with Indigenous experts, we can approach conservation in a way that respects the vital interconnections between people and place. Around the world, it is clear that many leaders have failed to control the human activities driving climate change and habitat loss, while Indigenous lands and waters have largely been successfully taken care of over thousands of years.

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES WE FACE IN GETTING THE WORLD UNIFIED ON A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE?

For the most part, the world is unified in its ambitions for achieving a more sustainable future, but the challenge now is to ensure those ambitions are met by the necessary action at the speed and scale it is needed. We need to all acknowledge and act on the fact that the cost of action is lower than the cost of inaction. Action to fight the climate and nature crises is an investment not a cost.

For example, implementing nature-based solutions could save developing countries at least US$104 billion a year by 2030 and US$393 billion in 2050. Addressing climate change could bring US$26 trillion in economic benefits by 2030 and create 65 million new low-carbon jobs. Solutions to halve emissions by 2030 are already available, but they need much more financial support to accelerate their impact.

The UN biodiversity conference COP15 that took place in Canada last December was a chance for countries to reset their broken relationship with the natural world. For this to happen, we need countries to come together to deliver an ambitious agreement that kickstarts immediate action to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 for a nature-positive world. This requires countries to find common ground on key issues such as finance, recognizing that countries in the developing world that contain much of our remaining wildlife require financial and capacity support from richer countries. WWF is calling for a target of at least US$60 billion annually of international finance for biodiversity in developing countries, as part of a broader package of support, including domestic and private finance for biodiversity.

HOW ARE YOU OVERCOMING SAID CHALLENGES?

WWF is an independent conservation organization active in nearly 100 countries. Our people are working to sustain the natural world for the benefit of people and wildlife. Working with many others, from individuals and communities to business and government, WWF seeks to protect and restore natural habitats, stop the mass extinction of wildlife, and make the way we produce and consume sustainable. Through our work we highlight the disastrous consequences of climate and natural breakdown, but we also show how conservation and climate action can make a difference.

Along with many others, we are calling on world leaders to take action to reverse loss by 2030 to build a nature positive world - one that has more nature than 2020. We are also supporting global action on climate change and sustainable development, through three science-based targets. Our advocacy efforts include encouraging national leaders to demonstrate action on commitments such as the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature, and working to help find common ground on issues such as finance.