WHAT CAN NATURE OFFER FOR COP26, AND WHAT CAN COP26 OFFER FOR NATURE?

‘Nature is our life support system,’ says Professor Nathalie Seddon, an expert on Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and one of around 30 official ‘friends’ of COP26.

Her research into ways of working with nature to help address climate change and other global challenges has played a key role in moving NbS up national and international policy and business agendas, putting biodiversity at the heart of the debate. 

Professor Seddon’s Nature-based Solutions Initiative, based in Oxford, researches the effectiveness of nature in fighting the impacts and drivers of climate change. Her advice is sought by governments, UN agencies and businesses.

COP26 ask: Professor Seddon calls on signatories of the Paris Agreement to adopt four policies:

1. NbS are not used to substitute the rapid phasing out of fossil fuels
2. NbS must involve a broad range of ecosystems on land and in the sea, not just forests
3. NbS should be implemented by or in partnership with local communities
4. NbS should provide measurable benefits for biodiversity.