Theme headline
Climate adaptation, mitigation and resilience building are key to addressing the global challenge of climate change. Nature-based Solutions can contribute to all these important actions. They are multifunctional, cost-effective solutions and can deliver multiple benefits to society, environment and the economy.
Theme introduction
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have a key role to play in our efforts to tackle the global challenge of climate change, through adaptation, mitigation and resilience. NetworkNature’s ‘Climate adaptation, mitigation and resilience’ theme supports a wide range of stakeholders to scale up the use of NbS for climate action, including:
- local and sub-national governments
- the finance and business sectors,
- subnational, national and EU policy-makers,
- educators, education institutions and students,
- natural resources managers and landowners,
- infrastructure planners and developers
Scaling up NbS will be crucial to address climate change adaptation and build local resilience to climate extremes such as heatwaves, floodings and wildfires. Accelerating the uptake of NbS practices can also deliver multiple societal benefits and contribute to nature restoration.
Under this theme, we will collate and develop resources, tools and training to help:
- raise awareness of nature’s critical role in climate change adaptation, mitigation and resilience.
- help address knowledge, data and information gaps for how NbS can support climate adaptation, mitigation and resilience.
- Ensure NbS deliver multiple societal benefits and contribute to biodiversity conservation
- assess risks and opportunities related to climate change and biodiversity loss, and embed this information in planning and decision-making.
- support the continued integration of NbS in policy and practice by highlighting how they can address multiple challenges, including climate change.
As part of this work, NetworkNature will be developing guides, briefs, webinars and trainings on NbS, including for climate adaptation, mitigation and resilience. Sign up to the NetworkNature website for updates.
Adaptation Gap Report 2023
In 2023, temperature records toppled, while storms, floods, droughts and heatwaves caused devastation. UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report 2023: Underfinanced. Underprepared – Inadequate investment and planning on climate adaptation leaves world exposed finds that progress on climate adaptation is slowing when it should be accelerating to catch up with these rising climate change impacts.
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Smart, Sustainable and Resilient cities: the Power of Nature-based Solutions
City life is becoming the default human experience. Cities are engines for development, and increasing urban populations provide connection and opportunity. But cities can also exacerbate some of the world’s most serious environmental and socioeconomic challenges.
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Harnessing the potential of Nature-based Solutions for mitigating and adapting to climate change
Although many governments, financial institutions, and corporations are embracing nature-based solutions as part of their sustainability and net-zero carbon strategies, some nations, Indigenous peoples, local community groups, and grassroots organizations have rejected this term. This pushback is fueled by (i) critical uncertainties about when, where, how, and for whom nature-based solutions are effective and (ii) controversies surrounding their misuse in greenwashing, violations of human rights, and threats to biodiversity.
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European forests for biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation
Like many ecosystems today, forests are under threat from disturbances, economic factors and competing pressures. In recent years, the pressing need to address the inter-related crises of biodiversity loss and climate change has resulted in greater emphasis on protecting, restoring and creating forests, and there is an increased public and policy awareness of the challenges forests are facing.
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Decent Work in Nature-based Solutions
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are increasingly seen as a way to meet the objectives of several global agreements and can be central to a just transition – if the right mix of just transition policies are implemented. But there is currently no guarantee that NbS will generate decent work.
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Nature-based Solutions for climate change mitigation
This report analyses the current state of knowledge regarding the role of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in climate change mitigation. It shows that in order to keep temperature rising to 1.5 degrees and achieve net zero by 2050 a significant contribution from NbS is both necessary and possible, provided the necessary finance is made available. It assesses the role that carbon offsets can play in the overall finance package.
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Theme leader
