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Top Leaders Endorse the Goal to Protect
30% of the Planet by 2030
PM Johnson, UN Secretary-General Guterres, EVP Timmermans, Canadian Minister Wilkinson, Christiana Figueres, and HRH Prince Charles all announce support for the target
NEW YORK, NY. September 28, 2020: Today, key world leaders announced their support for the science based target to protect 30% of the planet by 2030.
These new endorsements come days before a United Nations Biodiversity Summit -- where Heads of State will lay down their proposals to curb biodiversity loss before next year’s 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Kunming, China.
Today’s announcements build on growing support for the 30x30 proposal, and help further establish it as one of the foundational pillars of the post-2020 biodiversity ten year plan. The Convention on Biological Diversity has included the proposal to protect at least 30% of the planet by 2030 as one of 20 targets put forward in the most recent draft of its post-2020 strategy, reflecting the growing support from governments. Costa Rica and France co-chair the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, an intergovernmental coalition of more than 30 countries around the world championing the 30x30 proposal.
Campaign for Nature issued the following statements:
Enric Sala, Explorer in Residence, National Geographic Society and the author of “The Nature of Nature, Why we need the wild.”
"As a scientist who has dedicated his life to the protection of the natural world, I welcome these endorsements of protecting 30% of the world's land and ocean by 2030 from the highest level. It is the exceptional leadership that we need in these times."
Brian O’Donnell, Director, Campaign for Nature
"Scientists are telling us that protecting at least 30% of the planet by 2030 is the minimum amount of protections needed to help confront the escalating crisis facing nature. It is encouraging to see a growing list of world leaders embrace this proposal as an essential element of any effective biodiversity protection strategy. For our collective efforts to be successful, we must also ensure that any global biodiversity strategy respects and promotes Indigenous Peoples’ rights and is backed by significantly increased funding."
Quotes on endorsing the protection of at least 30% of the planet by 2030
Boris Johnson, Prime Minister, UK
The Prime Minister issued the following remarks prior to announcing on Monday, September 28 new commitments to protect 30% of the UK’s lands by 2030 and to join the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People which champions the 30x30 target for land and ocean at the global level.
“We must turn these words into action and use them to build momentum, to agree to ambitious goals and targets. We must act now - right now. We cannot afford to dither and delay because biodiversity loss is happening today and it is happening at a frightening rate. Left unchecked, the consequences will be catastrophic for us all.”
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister, Canada
“We need to act in concert together to protect biodiversity. That's why Canada has signed onto the leadership pledge and the high ambition coalition. It means we are committed to protecting 25% of our land and 25% of our ocean by 2025 and hitting the 30% target for each by 2030. The way we are going to do it, is by working with Indigenous Peoples who are our partners in protecting the land and who understand how important it is to be good stewards of the lands and waters that sustain us.”
António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General
''I commend the ambitious governments participating today that are calling for thirty percent of land and marine resources to be protected by 2030.''
Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President, European Commission
"I call on all leaders to commit to protecting at least 30 percent of the planet by 2030. It is a goal that is firmly grounded in scientific evidence. We have already proposed to apply it for the European Union in our 2030 Biodiversity Strategy. I also call on all government and business leaders to significantly step up investments in nature and biodiversity. The 30% target backed up by strong financial support for nature is at the same time an environmental imperative and a great opportunity to improve our health and help our economies transition to a sustainable economy… We have one chance and once chance only to get it right… It can be done. It should be done.”
The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Canada
"Because of the urgency of reversing the loss of nature, we are pleased to join the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, which calls for protecting at least 30 percent of the world’s land and ocean by 2030. Canada is uniquely positioned to contribute to this important goal both at home and abroad. We have both the responsibility and the opportunity. We have the second largest land mass, a fifth of the world’s freshwater, and the longest coastline in the world, that together are critical for biodiversity and for securing carbon in nature in the fight against climate change."
HRH Prince Charles
"To have the impact required we must also think of scale. Global mega projects such as 30% by 2030, the great green wall, Africa 100, the 2020 initiative and many others have the potential not only to improve natural capital, but also to increase opportunities in the green economy while improving sustainable livelihoods and local economic growth." (video link)
MEDIA ADVISORY
Media Contact: Kirsten Weymouth
+1 703.928.4995 kweymouth@ngs.org
Global Champions Commit Billions in Finance for Nature
EVP Timmermans, Unilever and United Nations officials join more than a dozen Ministers, business leaders and philanthropists to call for urgent action at the Nature Finance Forum
NEW YORK, NY. September 28, 2020: Today, European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans joined ministers from Germany, the United Kingdom, Costa Rica, Canada, and Norway; business leaders; UN leaders; and philanthropists at the Nature Finance Forum to kick off a major global effort to finance nature.
In the lead up to the UN’s Biodiversity Summit later this month, many actors are pledging to increase ambitious targets to halt the unprecedented extinction crisis, but participants at today’s events stressed those goals cannot be achieved without dramatically increased funding to protect and restore our planet, and transform our land and marine use systems.
This event marked the first time that high-level leaders from governments, philanthropies, and businesses have come together to highlight the importance of nature finance and pledge to increase funding for implementing the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework, set to be agreed next year at the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity COP15 in Kunming, China.
A recent report found that funding a new ten-year biodiversity plan will require additional annual investments in nature of about $700 billion per year, which is less than 1% of global GDP. Another recent independent analysis by 100 economists and scientists found that the benefits of protecting nature outweigh costs 5-to-1, and nature conservation drives economic growth. The Nature Finance Forum, which was organized as part of the UNDP Nature for Life Hub, highlighted the type of leadership that will be needed to invest what is needed in nature.
The question of funding is especially pressing for low- and middle-income countries, which manage the majority of the world’s biodiversity and need much greater assistance and financial incentives to preserve these remaining natural areas alongside efforts to reduce poverty and hunger. Additionally, a recent report from Rights and Resources Initiative identified major opportunities to invest in securing collective tenure rights as a means of safeguarding biodiversity.
Highlights of the Nature Finance Forum event include the following:
EVP Frans Timmermans called on leaders to commit to and invest in the scientific goal of protecting 30% of the planet by 2030, which the European Commission included in its biodiversity strategy earlier this year.
Gerd Müller, German Federal Minister, announced that the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is setting up the new Legacy Landscape Fund — a joint initiative with other public and private funders, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and NGOs — to provide long-term financing to protected areas and communities in low- and middle-income countries. The Rob and Melani Walton Foundation announced they are partnering with the German government in this endeavor.
Minister Müller also announced that Germany intends to increase its €500 million ($584 million USD) annual investment in protecting biodiversity in low- and middle-income countries.
The UK’s Environment Minister Zac Goldsmith announced an increased spend on nature as part of the UK’s doubling of international climate finance to £11.6 billion ($14.8 billion USD).
Sveinung Rotevatn, Minister of Climate and Environment, Norway, pledged the launch of a coalition to end tropical deforestation and called on other nations to join in the coalition.
Hansjorg Wyss highlighted the Wyss Foundation’s 10-year, $1 billion USD pledge to support conservation worldwide.
Mark Engel, Chief Supply Chain Officer of Unilever, noted their €1 billion ($1.2 billion USD) commitment in a climate and nature fund.
Anne-Laurence Roucher, Deputy CEO of Mirova, highlighted their goal of raising more than $1 billion USD by 2022, dedicated to nature.
Antoine Sire, Head of Company Engagement of BNP Paribas, noted their agreement with the United Nations Environment Programme to channel $10 billion USD of private and public capital to environmentally and socially groundbreaking projects in developing countries by 2025.
New Global Environment Facility CEO Carlos Manuel Rodriguez called for new government policies to remove the large incentives that currently exist for activities that destroy nature and create incentives to invest in nature.
Actor and conservationist Edward Norton called on companies to increase the price they pay for carbon offsets to better reflect the actual cost of verified mitigation through land conservation.
The Nature Finance Forum is the first in an anticipated series of finance discussions that will build momentum and secure financial commitments to support a successful Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework agreement and its implementation.
Quotes from the Event from Global Leaders:
Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President, European Commission:
“I call on all leaders to commit to protecting at least 30% of the planet by 2030. It is a goal that is firmly grounded in scientific evidence. We have already proposed to apply it for the European Union in our 2030 Biodiversity Strategy. I also call on all government and business leaders to significantly step up investments in nature and biodiversity. The 30% target backed up by strong financial support for nature is at the same time an environmental imperative and a great opportunity to improve our health and help our economies transition to a sustainable economy… We have one chance and one chance only to get it right… It can be done. It should be done.”
Zac Goldsmith, Minister of State for Pacific and the Environment, UK:
“There is no pathway to net zero emissions without ramping up our efforts to protect and restore nature on an unprecedented scale. Nature-based solutions could provide around a third of the cost-effective solutions we need by 2030, and yet they attract just 3% of global climate investment. So governments need to step up. As COP 26 presidents, we are making nature a priority.”
“Putting our money where our mouth is, we have doubled our international climate finance to £11.6 billion ($14.8 billion USD). As part of this increase, we will be increasing our spend on nature and asking other countries to do similar.”
Gerd Müller, German Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development:
“Developing countries lack financial mechanisms for biodiversity protection. That is why Germany is investing €500 million ($584 million USD) per year in protecting biodiversity in developing countries. We will increase our contribution.”
“One innovative instrument is the Legacy Landscape Fund. We will launch this fund with other public and private donors...Through the Fund, we will provide long term finance for the most important protected areas in developing countries and preserve biodiversity and natural habitats.”
Andrea Meza Murillo, Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica:
“The world has a moral and pragmatic imperative to come together in the next year to agree to a new global agreement for nature with ambitious goals, bold actions, and increased resources for biodiversity from public and private financing.”
Sveinung Rotevatn, Minister of Climate and Environment, Norway:
“By the biodiversity COP in Kunming and the climate COP in Glasgow next fall, let us put in place a coalition to end tropical deforestation once and for all. This will take political will, billions of dollars in annual finance, and objective standards of performance. It will definitely be worth the effort.”
Elizabeth Mrema, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity:
“Next year will see an ambitious Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework to be agreed at the UN Biodiversity Conference in China. The successful implementation of the Post-2020 Framework relies on the mobilization of additional resources and the reduction or redirection of $500 billion USD causing harm to biodiversity, including negative incentives or subsidies.”
Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme:
“We only need an additional $700 billion USD annually to achieve our ambitious biodiversity goals for the year 2030 — that's less than 1% of global GDP and only a fraction of the $5.2 trillion that we spend on fossil fuel subsidies every year, even this year.”
Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, CEO, Global Environment Facility:
“We need to achieve four crucial goals. Number one, we must mobilize financial resources from all sources. Second, we must reduce the flow of government and financial funds into environmentally damaging sectors for the economy. Third, governments must pave the way for more private investment by changing regulations, policies, incentives, and disincentives. And fourth, we must prove to governments that preserving the environment is in their own political and self-interest.”
Christiana Figueres, Former Executive Secretary, UNFCCC, and Founding Partner, Global Optimism:
“We have to very urgently develop the financial models and the financial willingness to allow us to protect 30% of our surface, including oceans and soils, by 2030. It is a must, we must do it, and we can!”
Quote from Indigenous Leader
Frank Brown, Hereditary Chief, Heiltsuk Nation (Bella Bella), Senior Leader for the Indigenous Leadership Initiative:
“In Canada and also in Australia, some of the biggest proposals for protecting lands are led by Indigenous Peoples. These Indigenous-led initiatives are a model for Canada and a gift to the world. That’s why implementing the UN Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Canada is crucial to honoring the country’s biodiversity commitments. This is how we ensure our planet can sustain our future generations. If we take care of the land, the land will take care of us.”
Quotes from Business Leaders
Paul Polman, Co-founder, IMAGINE:
“Business for Nature has announced that more than 500 companies with combined revenue of around $4 trillion, including Walmart, Microsoft, Unilever, Mahindra Group, and H&M, are urging governments to adopt policies now to reverse nature loss in this decade.”
Mark Engel, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Unilever:
“We’re going to invest 1 billion euros in a new climate and nature fund. And, over the next 10 years, we will put this money into high impact projects and initiatives such as landscape restoration and wildlife protection so we can help protect and restore the health of the planet.”
Jeremy Darroch, Group Chief Executive, Sky Group:
“We launched Sky Ocean Ventures Fund. That’s our own investment fund where we are working with small businesses who are working in the supply chain to develop the source solutions to single-use plastic that will really help ocean health over the next coming decades.”
Anne-Laurence Roucher, Deputy CEO, Mirova:
“We have already financed four transformative land restoration projects that are able to deliver superior environmental and social benefits on the ground while also having attractive financial performance potential.”
“Our goal is to raise more than $1 billion by 2022, dedicated to nature.”
Antoine Sire, Head of Company Engagement, BNP Paribas:
“If everybody is working together, we can really find solutions and have a real financial response to the problem, the very important problem, of coral reefs.”
Anthony Waldron, Ecologist at the University of Cambridge and Lead Author, Protecting 30% of the Planet for Nature: Costs, Benefits and Economic Implications; lead author of the finance report on the case for financing biodiversity initiatives:
“Our report shows that protection in today’s economy brings in more revenue than the alternatives and likely adds revenue to agriculture and forestry, while helping prevent climate change, water crises, biodiversity loss, and disease. Increasing nature protection is a sound policy for governments juggling multiple interests. You cannot put a price tag on nature — but the economic numbers point to its protection.”
Quotes from Philanthropists
Hansjorg Wyss, Chairman, Wyss Foundation:
“In 2018, I made a 10-year, $1 billion USD pledge to support locally driven, place-based conservation projects across the globe. Since then we have worked on four continents, protecting beauty, protecting biodiversity, protecting landscapes that were on the threat of disappearing.”
Aileen Lee, Chief Program Officer for Environmental Conservation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation:
“Multi-party public-private collaboratives that mobilize financing for nature can unlock greater levels of ambition for conservation and deliver more durable results for critical ecosystems and the people who depend upon them.”
Rob and Melani Walton, Rob and Melani Walton Foundation:
“We're joining a German government pilot program, the Legacy Landscapes Fund, to ensure long-term financial support for the world's most important protected areas.”
Julie Packard, Vice Chairman, David & Lucile Packard Foundation:
“The greatest successes result when businesses, governments, and philanthropy come together to work with local communities. Together we can improve the health of the ocean, and the people who depend on it.”
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Event Overview
Nature Finance Forum: Financing an Ambitious Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework
Funding an ambitious Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework will require significant increases in financial resources from all sources, including official development assistance, governments’ domestic budgets, climate financing directed to nature-based solutions, philanthropies, corporations, and new sources of revenue or savings through regulatory and subsidy changes. The Nature Finance Forum will bring together high-level leaders to announce major financial commitments and demonstrate leadership in nature finance. It will take place during the four-day UNDP Nature for Life Hub virtual program.
Participants will include leaders from donor countries, developing countries, multilateral and regional financial institutions, corporations and investors, and philanthropists. The event, organized and supported by Campaign for Nature and Business for Nature, is expected to be the first of several events focused on nature finance in the run-up to the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Together the panelists will encourage other world leaders to join them in ambitious financial commitments for nature.
SPEAKERS
Government:
Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of the European Green Deal
Dr. Gerd Müller, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany
Andrea Meza Murillo, Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica
Sveinung Rotevatn, Minister of Climate and Environment, Norway
The Rt Hon. Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park, Minister for Pacific and the Environment at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, UK
Multilateral Organizations:
Elizabeth Mrema, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity
Christiana Figueres, Former Executive Secretary, UNFCCC, and Founding Partner, Global Optimism
Achim Steiner, Administrator, UNDP
Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, CEO, Global Environment Facility
Edward Norton, actor, conservation activist and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity
Indigenous Peoples
Frank Brown, Hereditary Chief Heiltsuk Nation (Bella Bella), Senior Leader for the Indigenous Leadership Initiative
Business
Paul Polman, Co-founder, IMAGINE
Marc Engel, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Unilever
Anne-Laurence Roucher, Deputy CEO, Mirova
Antoine Sire, Head of Company Engagement, BNP Paribas
Jeremy Darroch, Group Chief Executive, Sky
Philanthropy
Hansjörg Wyss, Chairman, Wyss Foundation
Aileen Lee, Chief Program Officer for Environmental Conservation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Rob and Melani Walton, Rob and Melani Walton Foundation
Julie Packard, Vice Chairman, David & Lucile Packard Foundation
Moderator
Touré, author and television personality
Event Recordings
Session 3.0 (EN)
Session 3.0 (FR)
Session 3.0 (SP)