Nature Holds the Key to Meeting Climate Goals
From November 6-18, thousands of officials, businesses and advocacy representatives are gathering in Egypt for the 27th annual UN Climate Conference of the Parties (COP). COP27 seeks renewed solidarity between countries, to deliver on the landmark Paris Agreement, for people and the planet.
Nature Is Key
When it comes to climate action, protecting nature is one of the greatest strategies for tackling climate change, but not just for the obvious reason that it sucks carbon out the air. Estimates suggest nature could get us at least 30 percent of the way to solving the climate crisis, while also providing a host of additional benefits — filtering fresh water, providing breathable air, not to mention the benefits to our mental health when we connect with nature — that other approaches don’t offer.
How can this be done? If you plant trees, they’re going to soak up carbon. For example, restoring native forest at the margins of the river to avoid landslides can also act as a carbon sink. Climate smart agriculture is another example that enables farmers to retain more carbon in their fields as they produce crops. Paying farmers not to cut down the forest decreases deforestation and preserves ecosystem services.
Barriers to Progress
The alterations to ecosystems occurring over recent decades as the planet has warmed are increasingly visible not just to scientists but also to average citizens who see their garden plants blooming earlier, or fewer lightning bugs on summer evenings, or the spread of invasive species, like the spotted lanternfly, which has recently been found in our region.
But despite the powerful case for investing in these ecosystems to build resilience to climate risks, the world has barely begun to realize this potential. The key barriers include lack of awareness of nature’s critical role in adaptation and lack of accessible funds to invest in nature-based solutions. Less than 2% of all public international climate finance goes toward nature-based solutions for adaptation, missing a critical opportunity to harness the power of nature to make communities more resilient to climate impacts.
Glimmers of Hope
Across our federal agencies, one can find many examples where nature-based solutions have been used successfully—including a project right here in our region. The Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management manages the 1,050-acre Fernald Preserve. The Preserve is the site of a former World War II facility that once produced high-purity uranium for nuclear weapons. The Visitors Center, once a warehouse, is Ohio’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum facility and includes a ground source heating/cooling system. The restoration of the site improves the natural quality and environmental health of the community and provides educational and recreational opportunities for the general public. It’s the habitat to more than 245 species of birds and 100 nesting spots. Within the Preserve, the Office maintains 385 acres of grassland and a 7-mile network of trails, making the Preserve one of the largest constructed wetland communities in Ohio. The main objectives in the Preserve are to maintain and improve wetland, prairie, and forest habitats; increase wildlife diversity; improve opportunities for birding; and to educate the public on successful ecological restoration.
And there are other glimmers of hope. To help the US achieve climate, conservation and equity goals, the Biden-Harris Administration is making significant investments in nature-based solutions. These solutions are actions to protect, sustainably manage or restore natural or modified ecosystems to address societal challenges, simultaneously providing benefits for people and the environment.
Yet, they are far from reaching their full potential. One challenge to further adoption is limited awareness and skills for using nature-based solutions.
The CGC Is All-In
And that’s where a place like the CGC comes into play. Nurturing our relationship with nature is at the forefront of all we do. To us, it’s about interconnectedness. What are the relationships between plants and animals (including us!) and the world around us? How do we extend that interconnectedness to all? And how we can work together to protect Earth’s resources in ways that leave the environment healthy for future generations?
One might be skeptical of the difference a small nonprofit can make with only a budding habitat restoration program, a commitment to promoting ecosystem gardening, and a small site from which to offer some programming. But it is exactly the awareness and skills for using nature-based solutions that we are committed to providing, that we are determined to build right here, with our community.
Together, we can lead the way to protect and care for nature and people in our century. There is strength in numbers, and we will go farther when we go together.
