Cali’s message to Baku: biodiversity and climate action must be delivered in tandem

It is well established that biodiversity loss and climate change are correlated and mutually reinforcing. A thriving nature keeps carbon stored where it naturally belongs and not in our planet’s atmosphere. Biodiversity enhances adaptation capacity and resilience, including in disaster-risk reduction. Climate change, on the other hand, is one of the major drivers of biodiversity loss. 

At the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) welcomed the outcomes of COP28 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in particular the Joint statement on climate, nature and people. The COP 16 High-Level segment signaled willingness to pursue peace with nature—a vision in which healthy ecosystems and a stable climate underpin sustainable development. Linkages between biodiversity loss and climate change were also emphasized by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and came to the fore in COP 16 decisions and in many of the parallel and side-events that ran alongside the negotiations. 

Here are three essential takeaways from COP 16 in Cali that Parties, partners, stakeholders and the public should consider at COP 29 in Baku: 

1.    The seeds of synergies are sowed at the multilateral level

COP 16 adopted a landmark decision on Biodiversity and Climate Change with an important reference to the ocean-climate-biodiversity nexus. The text notably calls upon the Presidents of COP 16 of the CBD and COP 29 and COP 30 of the UNFCCC to strengthen multilateral coordination. The decision also requests the Executive Secretary of the CBD to invite Parties, observers and other stakeholders to submit (by May 2025) their views on options for enhanced policy coherence, including a potential joint work programme of the three Rio conventions, namely CBD, UNFCCC and UNCCD.

In another decision adopted in Cali, Parties agreed on an improved  process to identify Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs), which will in turn help with efforts to identify and protect the most critical and vulnerable parts of the ocean  EBSAs can support planning and management with the most advanced science and knowledge available, hence contributing to global efforts to secure a healthy ocean—a cornerstone of a stable, life-sustaining climate system.   

2.    Synergies are harvested at the national level

A surge of national ambition and implementation, reflecting what has been agreed at the multilateral level, is needed. In Cali, participants in the high-level ministerial session and several parallel events agreed on the need to stimulate and seize synergies in the implementation of the Rio trio at the national level. 

Several parallel and side-events delved into what is required to bring about policy coherence and synergy in the national implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) and the Paris Agreement. Breaking the silos separating national actors working on climate change and biodiversity loss, but also on desertification and land degradation, and pollution appeared as a must. 

The preparation and implementation of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) must be connected with planning instruments under the other Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), including the forthcoming Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs 3.0) due in early 2025. Speaking at a high-level ministerial debate in Cali, the Executive Secretary of the CBD called for a whole-of-MEA approach to national implementation.

3.    Urgent action on biodiversity and climate must be inclusive and should heed the lessons of the past 

The scramble for critical minerals needed for the energy transition risks perpetuating commodity dependence, exacerbating geopolitical tensions and environmental and social challenges, including adverse impacts on livelihoods and biodiversity, health, human security and human rights. One important message that reverberated in the COP 16 venue is that the decarbonization of economies must not come at the expense of nature and people. Human rights must continue to underpin the synergistic pursuit of biodiversity and climate goals. 

The whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach—a tenet of the implementation of the KMGBF—is crucial because it unlocks everything nations have in the way of resources, action, innovation and knowledge. The participation of indigenous peoples and local communities, youth, and women must be meaningful. Cutting corners will set the world back. Biodiversity-Climate synergies powered by science and a whole-of-society endeavor will bring the world closer to peace with nature. 

More information:

Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

Climate Change and Biodiversity

National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans