Highlights from the One Planet Summit

Nature’s Reflection Photography 2020

The live-virtual #OnePlanetSummit was hosted by President Macron of France this week with Heads of State- private financiers, and world leaders. The summit focused on financing the recovery of nature and biodiversity loss. The President opened the summit by stating that the CV19 socio-economic health crisis may have been the theme of 2020, but now 2021 (and the super decade ahead) must focus on building resilience and transforming our economies according to nature’s economy and ecology. The good news is that when we create the conditions for nature to regenerate, the pace and scale of nature’s ability to revitalize itself is extraordinary and the benefits are many. Yet, we have not met one of our 180 AICHI Biodiversity Targets (1990) to date. We need to reconcile our relationship to Nature. We need to recognize that nature is the solution to many of our global challenges.

“The solutions are in nature.” President Macron

Nature is the key to reducing carbon pollution and meeting our 1.5C climate goal and net zero carbon targets. Re-wilding nature — 30% of land and oceans by 2030 — is critical not only to avert the extinction of nearly 1 million species — 40% of amphibians, 33% of marine mammals, and 70% of coral reefs endangered, (IPBES 2020), but to ensuring that we stay healthy and well; physically, mentally, economically. Further, by promoting nature-friendly agro-forestry and agro-ecology ways to farm, we can shift the agriculture industry from acting as a significant carbon source (25% of the global carbon footprint) to an important carbon sink.

State of the Natural World:

· 23% of terrestrial earth remains wild

· 7.5% of the ocean is protected in marine sanctuaries

The pillars of action for the Summit to promote biodiversity were:

· Protecting the terrestrial and marine ecosystems

· Promoting agro-ecology

· Mobilizing funds for biodiversity with innovative funding

· Boosting investment in the Great Green Wall Accelerator

The strategy proposed by President Macron for shifting finance toward nature-friendly actions were:

· Integrating carbon neutrality into corporate, country, bank financials

· Stop subsidies for carbon polluting companies.

· Shift the financial burden for climate costs from tax payers to polluters.

On the Ground the Summit engages:

· 121 countries participating

· 308 research projects

· 100% increase in financial players from last year

Star-lighting the Great Green Wall — a massive agro-ecology project across 15 regions of the Sahel, invokes the great, Wangari Maathai, whose daughter Wangira carries her mother’s spirit in her work in Africa via WRI, today.

Coherent with President Macron’s propositions, the Prince of Wales also launched this week his Terra Carta Earth Charter with the goal of raising $10 billion to invest in nature by 2022 through the Natural Capital Investment Alliance. Already, Blackrock, Bank of America, and HSBC support the Terra Carta. I still have Prince Charles’ book, Harmony, on my bookshelf of favorites. His lifelong passion for nature and his “Sustainable Markets” (launched at WEF last year) tenets for investing in nature-based solutions to climate change, forest restoration, wetland rehabilitation, agro-ecology, and expansion of marine protected areas are helping drive the narrative on Nature Positive recovery.

‘Bees aren’t happy with the chemicals we shower on them.”

Christine La Garde, President of the European Central Bank

“We need to turn over a new leaf for nature. “

Ursula von der Leyden, President of European Union (Team Europe)

(Commit to 3B trees planted by 2030)

“We have been taking nature for granted.” Marco Lambertini, WWF Intl.

“We are not powerless in the face of this situation.”

Prince Albert of Monaco

“Don’t be afraid. Have courage.”

President Carlos Alvarado Quesada, Costa Rica

“We can generate more resources in public-private partnerships on a much wider scale and we can finance conservation more efficiently.”

President Solberg, Norway

“ Our survival depends on nature.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (committed $45 B to plant $2 B trees)

“The supply chain matters, so we can’t do this work alone. And what gets measured, gets done. We measure the biodiversity impact of our company.” Jean Pascale Tricolore

“We are destroying species and habitat at an extraordinary rate. As David Attenborough tells us, we need to re-wild the world. “

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, UK (committed $3 B to nature)