N4C Weekly Briefing
15 - 21 March 2023
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The New U.N. Climate Report Has Arrived. Resist the Urge to Despair [Commentary]
TIME, Bronson Griscom, 20 March
TIME shares a commentary from Bronson Griscom, Vice President of Natural Climate Solutions at Conservation International, reviewing the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. He calls for those concerned about climate change to digest the findings of the report to resist the feeling of hopelessness that its dire outlook might provoke. The report confirms that humanity is on track to blow past 1.5°C (2.7°F) of planetary warming by the early 2030s. It re-affirms that three of the top five highest-potential mitigation techniques involve living ecosystems: halting deforestation, restoring carbon-rich ecosystems like wetlands and rainforests, and improving how we manage agricultural lands. Research shows that forests are absorbing carbon faster in response to more carbon in the air, and trees have surprising abilities to adapt as temperature and moisture change.
Jack Hurd and Akanksha Khatri publish a WEF Agenda article calling for a collaborative approach to financing nature, in line with what the IPCC report says is necessary to keep Paris goals in reach. They argue that we need climate action on all fronts including the voluntary carbon market, which can be an invaluable source of financing for nature.
Edie, Climate Home News, and BusinessGreen all cover the findings of the IPCC report and its potential impacts. Nature4Climate shares its thoughts on what the new IPCC report means in the upcoming Global Stocktake, sharing six actions that governments can take to secure a nature positive future. The Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund, World Resources Institute, World Economic Forum, and World Wildlife Fund all respond to the report.
The Independent reports that differing opinions between rich and developing nations held up the process to finalize the report over proposed emissions targets and financial aid to vulnerable nations.
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Use Nature as Infrastructure [Editorial]
Scientific American, Editorial, 1 April
Scientific American publishes an editorial calling for public and private sector leaders to recognize nature's potential as a means of infrastructure. EuroNews shares a commentary from Espen Barth Eide, Norway's Minister of Climate and Environment, and Marianne Kleiberg, Managing Director of The Nature Conservancy in Europe, highlighting the opportunities to utilize nature-based solutions to solve both large and small problems in society are endless.
The Guardian reports that UK ministers ‘ignored’ their own adviser over weak targets for restoring England's nature. The government’s adviser, Natural England, said ministers needed to agree to target of restoring 1.5 million hectares of habitat outside existing protected sites if they wanted to meet a commitment to protect 30% of land and sea, and suggesting a minimum target of at least 750,000 hectares. But in December the environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, unveiled targets at the biodiversity COP15 in Canada to restore roughly 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat outside protected areas by 2042.
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Regrowth of degraded tropical forests offsets ‘a quarter’ of deforestation emissions
Carbon Brief, Yannie Quiroz, 15 March
Carbon Brief reports that a new study finds recovering forests can offset around a quarter of the emissions generated from deforestation in humid tropical regions. The researchers find that degraded and secondary forests in humid tropical regions have stored, on average, 107 million tonnes of carbon (MtC) annually between 1984 and 2018 – enough to offset 26% of the carbon emissions generated from forest loss in those regions during that period. The study says that investing in conservation for secondary and degraded forests is essential, but warns that this should not come at the expense of conserving old-growth forests, which “remains the most cost-effective climate mitigation strategy in the land-use sector”. The Boston Globe publishes an editorial calling for the US to step up and save the Amazon rainforest before it is too late through additional forest conservation financing and banning imports tied to deforestation.
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Plan to plough $1bn into sustainable farming in South America misses initial target
Financial Times, Michael Pooler, 14 March
Financial Times covers the progress of the Innovative Finance for the Amazon, Cerrado and Chaco (IFACC) initiative that set an ambitious goal of directing USD 1 billion into soyabean and cattle farming free of deforestation in threatened South American ecosystems by 2025, but fell short of an initial investment goal by almost half in its first year. Organisers of IFACC say the scheme is the first attempt to scale up funding for deforestation-free beef and soy production in the three biomes, which are vital stores of carbon, water and biodiversity. Across the regions, the two commodities are major drivers of forest and vegetation clearance. Total commitments under IFACC have risen to USD 4.3 billion, with 15 companies now on board to provide funds. “That process of working with farmers to bring them along with a different way of doing business and then agreeing on transaction terms of the loan — it just takes time,” said Greg Fishbein, a director at The Nature Conservancy, one of the initiative’s coordinators. Project Syndicate shares a commentary from senior leaders at Madre Brava warning food sector stakeholders that physical and transition climate disruptions are on the horizon and the time to decarbonize is now.
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Including high-quality J-REDD+ can help the IC-VCM accelerate a just transition, integrity, and scale in the voluntary carbon market
Carbon Pulse, Mark Moroge, Breanna Lujan and Julia Paltseva, 20 March
Carbon Pulse publishes an op-ed from a team at EDF on why JREDD programmes should be eligible under IC-VCM's upcoming guidance, and how they can unlock extreme benefits.
Benzinga reports the Natural Climate Solutions Alliance, in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and with the support of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the World Economic Forum, released new guidance: 'A Buyer's Guide to Natural Climate Solutions Carbon Credits'. The guide provides information to support businesses as they navigate the procurement process for high-quality NCS carbon credits that meet the tripartite goals of climate change mitigation, biodiversity gains and benefits to people.
Edie shares that CDP has revealed that 18,600 companies disclosed data on climate last year – a 42% year-on-year increase. Yet, less than half of this amount disclosed on biodiversity, and only 1,000 disclosed information on forests. BusinessGreen notes that CDP's findings mean less than half of companies are reporting on their supply chain emissions despite warnings they could be 11 times higher than their direct emissions. ESG Investor covers investors' efforts to get businesses to track and disclose their impacts on nature.
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FOR YOUR INFORMATION
The Nature Conservancy and TerraCarbon launch a scientific collaboration to build trust and transparency in REDD+ in carbon markets
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Science Based Targets initiative shares a new survey exploring corporate investments in climate action beyond corporate value chains. SBTi welcomes perspectives and experiences on this type of investment to understand how and why corporations are financing climate action outside of their value chains and explore what might motivate them to invest in the future. These insights will be used to inform the development of the SBTi Guidance Document on climate action outside of a company’s value chain. This survey will cover both the purchasing of carbon credits and broader climate finance.
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UNFCCC opens a call for a call for public inputs with a view to seeking further input from stakeholders for the requirements for the development and assessment of mechanism methodologies of carbon credits under Article 6.
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Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project shares a study that reaffirms and use designations are one of the best hopes for the long-term conservation of critical remaining intact forests. They found that deforestation was the primary driver of forest loss, with fire always being a smaller subset. Averaged across all 5 years, protected areas and indigenous territories had similar levels of effectiveness, reducing primary forest loss rate by 3x compared to areas outside of these designations.
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1T.org launches the 1t.org Knowledge Hub to support businesses in this journey. It offers businesses curated knowledge and opportunities to share learnings and experiences to design and develop forest conservation and restoration strategies.
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Mercuria announces that it will launch a $500 million nature-based investment platform called Silvania. Silvania will invest exclusively in natural climate solutions globally to support the delivery of the Paris Agreement goals and the UN 30x30 Initiative.
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Planet Tracker publishes an investor guide for investing in commodity goods companies to assess their decarbonisation plans.
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Zoological Society of London, Rainforest Trust and an alliance of conservation NGOs partner to launch a new fund aimed at safeguarding EDGE species. The new US$ 5,000,000 partnership to protect and conserve habitat for the world’s most threatened and evolutionarily distinct species will provide grants to local Civil Society Organizations that are focused on creating or expanding protected and conserved areas across the tropics and subtropics.
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Handprint updates their Nature Tech map and calls for the broader nature tech community to share information on companies and enablers working in the sector.
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WBCSD shares new guidance on avoided emissions that will help ensure credible accounting of avoided emissions, including clear separation from a company's GHG emissions.
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Terrasos publishes a new protocol for issuing voluntary biodiversity credits. The Protocol seeks to establish a roadmap to generate projects that ensure quantifiable gains in terms of biodiversity, as well as the financial and legal assurances required to ensure sustainability and permanence.
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High Tide Foundation announces a new Carbon Policy and Markets Initiative program that aims to accelerate ambitious climate action and capital mobilization through robust rules and guidance for voluntary corporate action and disclosures, and by building the next generation of high integrity carbon and environmental services markets. The initial focus of the program will be on advancing strong frameworks in two main areas: 1) rigorous and transparent emission reduction accounting standards for greenhouse gas inventories and corporate climate targets and 2) building the next generation of voluntary carbon and environmental services markets.
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ACR shares a post on the future of remote sensing technology for measuring forestry carbon in the carbon market.
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The agricultural industry is the predominant income stream for Ethiopians; around 85% of Ethiopia’s population works in the sector, and deforestation is often employed to expand agricultural operations. In the region of Machakel, only around six percent of original forest cover remains. This has resulted in a vicious cycle, whereby soil quality has critically deteriorated and left many communities in a state of food and income insecurity. This WeForest project replants indigenous trees in the Amhara region, along with fruit and timber trees that are sustainably harvested as an alternative income generating activity for local residents. Since project inception, organizers have successfully restored 1,197 hectares of degraded land.
N4C is compiling an index of NBS case studies, together with an interactive map, to highlight action on the ground. Each week, we will be choosing a case study to present, to help give concrete examples of work being done to bring NBS theory into practice.
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A new study finds reforested land in tropical areas can only offset 1/4 of the emissions from the deforestation of tropical forests.
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GOOD NEWS
The NHS worker singlehandedly rewilding kelp forests in Sussex
A 40-year-old NHS worker, Steve Allnutt, has made it his mission around his busy work schedule, to rewild 3 hectares (7.4 acres) of kelp beds in Sussex. Allnutt was initially excited when new laws banned fishing practices that degrade kelp forest ecosystems – but soon he realised that, although the areas were newly protected, the government had no actual restoration plans. If no one else would act, he figured, it was down to him.
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NATURE JOBS/OPPORTUNITIES
In this section, we'll be posting NBS-related jobs as a service to the community. If you have an opportunity you'd like featured in the newsletter, please send the details to us.
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Media Round-Up
Conservation
Give mature trees same protection as heritage buildings, say campaigners
The Guardian, Sandra Laville, 16 March
Biden expected to designate Nev. monument next week
E&E News, Scott Streater, 17 March
Inside the Biden team's wild week on the environment
E&E News, Robin Bravender, Timothy Cama, and Emma Dumain, 17 March
An Ocean of Opportunity [Commentary]
ESG Investor, Karen Sack, 17 March
Climate and Nature Must be Tackled in Tandem
ESG Investor, Vibeka Mair, 17 March
Oscars goody bags contained 'unseemly' gift: certificates for Aboriginal land
Grist, Lyric Aquino, 17 March
In Sri Lanka and beyond, seagrass key to livelihoods, marine habitats
Mongabay, Malaka Rodrigo, 15 March
DRC: a study is launched to determine the country's forestry heritage
Afrik 21, Boris Ngounou, 16 March
Habitat preservation in the Western Ghats can help enhance biodiversity in the hotspot
Mongabay, Archita Bhatta, 17 March
Belo Monte: an opportunity for Lula and the PT
SUMAÚMA, 16 March
‘Historic moment’ for nature as Europe’s first wild river national park announced in Albania
The Guardian, Karen McVeigh, 15 March
Biden budget includes $24 billion for conservation and protecting communities from climate disasters
CNBC, Emma Newburger, 9 March
Before Collapse, Credit Suisse Quietly Conquered an Obscure Debt Market
Bloomberg, Natasha White, 21 March
Biden administration announces nearly $200 million for wildfire resilience
The Hill, Zack Budryk, 21 March
Biden creates national monuments in Nevada and Texas
E&E News, Scott Streater, 21 March
Imagining REDD+ under Indonesia’s ‘Job Creation Law’
CIFOR Forests News, Daniella Silva, 13 March
Dry forests and savannas vital for Brazil's climate goals
Phys.org, 15 March
Indigenous and Local Communities
Green Climate Fund credibility hangs over response to violence in Nicaragua project
Climate Change News, 17 March
Nature's stewards under attack
Climate Change News, 17 March
Robinson Huron Treaty: a case with billions at stake
The Narwhal, Nick Dunne, 14 March
Namibian community protects its rhinos from poaching but could lose them to mining
Mongabay, Victoria Schneider, 13 March
Madia Gond tribes forced to leave ancestral land, as human-animal conflict increases
Mongabay, Sahana David Menon, 14 March
Don't scare off the jaburus: with delay, indigenous people enter the oil equation at the mouth of the Amazon
SUMAÚMA, Claudia Antunes, 15 March
How Indigenous People Are Restoring Brazil’s Atlantic Forest
Yale E360, Jill Langlois, 14 March
Carbon Markets
Carbon Offset Gatekeepers Are Failing to Stop Junk Credits
Bloomberg, Natasha White, 21 March
Including high-quality J-REDD+ can help the IC-VCM accelerate a just transition, integrity, and scale in the voluntary carbon market [Commentary]
Carbon Pulse, Mark Moroge, Breanna Lujan, and Julia Paltseva, 20 March
Verra finalising policy linking registry to third-party interfaces
QC Intel, 16 March
Forestry investor begins measuring biodiversity baselines in preparation for incoming nature markets
Carbon Pulse, 16 March
Agreement on high-level principles needed before scaling biodiversity credit market -experts
Carbon Pulse, 15 March
Biodiversity Credit Alliance could serve as nature’s IC-VCM on governance, experts say
Carbon Pulse, 16 March
REDD+ developer expresses frustration, concern with Verra engagement on methodology overhaul
Carbon Pulse, 16 March
Standards body targeting small-scale nature restoration raises startup cash
Carbon Pulse, 10 March
ANALYSIS: With ‘tighter’ contracts, CIX aims to resume voluntary carbon market’s standardisation push
Carbon Pulse, 10 March
Study finds impact limitations for private biodiversity finance
Carbon Pulse, 14 March
Verra puts African soil carbon project ‘on hold’
QC Intel, 15 March
DRC to assess forest carbon potential amid reform
QC Intel, 15 March
ICE to auction 500,000 AR forestry carbon credits on March 30
QC Intel, 15 March
Malaysian state bids for key regional role in carbon markets, CCS infrastructure
Carbon Pulse, 15 March
NGOs call on DRC authorities to delay carbon market bill
QC Intel, 14 March
Indonesia, Norway advance forest emissions partnership plans
QC Intel, 14 March
UK VCM regulation could address nature financing gap: report
QC Intel, 14 March
Ghana seeks Article 6 emission reduction project ideas
QC Intel, 17 March
Carbon credit bill introduced to Senate in Paraguay
QC Intel, 17 March
Do offset registry revenue models offer perverse incentives to over-credit?
Carbon Pulse, Joan Pinto, 20 March
Nature Loss
CONGO BASIN: Did the One Forest Summit dodge massive deforestation?
Afrik 21, Boris Ngounou, 13 March
EU deforestation law risks making sustainable palm oil certification irrelevant, says grower
Eco-Business, Samantha Ho, 16 March
Companies Fail to Engage Suppliers on Nature, Climate
ESG Investor, Jack Grogan-Fenn, 15 March
'Epidemic of climate anxiety': Woodland Trust warns nature loss is impacting mental health
BusinessGreen, Amber Rolt, 21 March
‘Exceptional’ surge in methane emissions from wetlands worries scientists
Carbon Brief, Ayesha Tandon, 21 March
Malaysia palm oil, rubber farmers file EU petition opposing deforestation law
Reuters, 15 March
Global ecosystems are at risk of losing carbon storage ability, study says
Mongabay, Maxwell Radwin, 14 March
Bill to halt mining near Okefenokee gets hearing but no vote
AP News, Russ Bynum, 14 March
Make it local: Deforestation link to less Amazon rainfall tips activism shift
Mongabay, Sarah Brown, 14 March
Stakeholders take aim at insurance firm’s biodiversity paper
Carbon Pulse, 15 March
Only 41% of firms track value chain emissions, with nature impact lagging even further -report
Carbon Pulse, 15 March
Interior mulls blocking mining activities in S.D. watershed
E&E News, Hannah Northey, 17 March
How we built a database of conflicts driven by Indonesia’s palm oil smallholder scheme
Mongabay, Tom Walker, 16 March
Peru congress debates stripping isolated Indigenous people of land and protections
Mongabay, Yvette Sierra Praeli, 16 March
Musk brought internet to Brazil’s Amazon. Criminals love it
AP News, FABIANO MAISONNAVE, 15 March
Germany champions Mercosur deal despite agriculture woes
Euractiv, Julia Dahm, 17 March
Loss of wetlands threatens South Sumatra’s rich fish-preserving tradition
Mongabay, Fadhil Nugraha and Mahesa Putra, 15 March
3 reasons the Willow Arctic oil drilling project was approved – it’s the latest battle in a long fight over Alaska’s North Slope [Commentary]
The Conversation, Scott L. Montgomery, 16 March
Rich nations are not looking good in the palm-oil dispute [Commentary]
Financial Times, Alan Beattie, 16 March
Ontario muzzled its Greenbelt Council: documents
The Narwhal, Emma McIntosh, 16 March
Core habitat for spotted owl removed from maps: internal docs
The Narwhal, Sarah Cox, 15 March
War for the Woods 10 | The Nature of Things
CBC Gem
Japan, EU & UK biomass emissions standards fall short and are full of loopholes, critics say
Mongabay, Annelise Giseburt, 14 March
Deforestation on the rise in Quintana Roo, Mexico, as Mennonite communities move in
Mongabay, Robin Canul, VALERIA CONTRERAS, 15 March
Timber smugglers build road inside Arunachal tiger reserve
New Indian Express, 16 March
Anger over NJ forest clearance
NJ Spotlight News, Tom Johnson, 13 March
PepsiCo asks suppliers to avoid buying palm oil from major producer in Indonesia
Supply Chain Dive, Ben Unglesbee, 16 March
Nature in danger as mountain forest loss quickens
BBC News, Maddie Molloy, 17 March
Restoration
NIGERIA: Bishops to plant 5.5 million trees in next 5 years
Afrik 21, Boris Ngounou, 17 March
Brazil looks to start-ups in battle to reforest the Amazon
Financial Times, Bryan Harris and Camilla Hodgson, 18 March
US developer kicks off first reforestation project in Virginia
QC Intel, 17 March
Nature Tech
The story in the soil: Meet the start-up trying to pioneer a UK market for biochar CO2 removals
BusinessGreen, Michael Holder, 20 March
Microbes on the farm: a solution for climate change?
Financial Times, Emiko Terazono and Alice Hancock, 19 March
Wood Vault: a Carbon Storage System to lock CO2 away
Carbon Credits, Jennifer L, 17 March
From Radar to AI: The future of conservation
National Geographic, Jon Heggie, 9 March
Sustainable Forestry
Stafford Capital's Forest Carbon Credit Fund Secures $242 Million
Carbon Credits, Jennifer L, 17 March
CONGO BASIN: Cosmetic Valley finances the forest cosmetopoeia
Afrik 21, Boris Ngounou, 14 March
Architects not adopting biomaterials are "dinosaurs" says Michael Green
De zeen, Ben Dreith, 13 March
Canada Invests $35 Million in First Nation Biomass CHP Project
Microgrid Knowledge, Kathy Hitchens, 8 March
India: A new frontier for biomass pellets
Canadian Biomass Magazine, Gordon Murray, 10 March
Can mass timber construction usher in a green revolution?
Property Week, Adriano Amorese, 7 March
Mass timber should "always start with forest health"
De zeen, Ben Dreith, 13 March
Agriculture and Soil Health
NGOs, businesses call for binding targets in new EU soil health law
Euractiv, Julia Dahm, 14 March
Vilsack: USDA needs flexibility, not more climate money
E&E News, Adam Aton, 17 March
New bill would boost advanced, climate-related agricultural research
Axios, Andrew Freedman, 16 March
NIGER: BOAD Pledges €35m for Climate Resilient Agriculture
Afrik 21, Inès Magoum, 13 March
Climate-incentivizing policies a contention point in farm bill
The Hill, Rachel Frazin, 20 March
L'Oréal Becomes Third Global Company to Invest in Geno-led Venture for Sustainably Sourced Ingredients
PR Newswire, 20 March
Just 1% of US farmers have signed carbon farming contracts, according to Purdue survey
Ag Funder News, Jennifer Marston, 20 March
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Nature4Climate's Weekly Briefing summarises content from international media outlets (and our partner organisations) on stories, developments and events that relate to nature-based solutions. Our editorial policy is to circulate articles and opinion pieces whether we agree or disagree with viewpoints represented. Please submit NCS jobs, news, reports and events for the newsletter to info@nature4climate.org.
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