The Guardian

October 5, 2020
Much of the Amazon could be on the verge of losing its distinct nature and switching from a closed canopy rainforest to an open savannah with far fewer trees as a result of the climate crisis, researchers have warned.

Rainforests are highly sensitive to changes in rainfall and moisture levels, and fires and prolonged droughts can result in areas losing trees and shifting to a savannah-like mix of woodland and grassland. In the Amazon, such changes were known to be possible but thought to be many decades away.

New research shows that this tipping point could be much closer than previously thought. As much as 40% of the existing Amazon rainforest is now at a point where it could exist as a savannah instead of as rainforest, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communications.

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The Christian Science Monitor

October 2, 2020
A new framework for defending the environment is emerging across the world allowing people to sue on behalf of the environment. More than 60 leaders signed a Pledge for Nature at the U.N. summit this week.

From Bolivia to New Zealand, rivers and ecosystems in at least 14 countries have won the legal right to exist and flourish, as a new way of safeguarding nature gains steam, U.S. environmental groups said on Thursday.

Rights of nature laws, allowing residents to sue over harm on behalf of lakes and reefs, have seen “a dramatic increase” in the last dozen years, said the groups the Earth Law Center, International Rivers, and the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice.

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Eureporter

October 2, 2020
On 30 September President Ursula von der Leyen represented the EU at the UN Biodiversity Summit in New York which brings together world leaders to step up global actions for nature and confirm their determination in agreeing a new ambitious global biodiversity framework at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, planned for 2021.

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BBC

September 30, 2020
Human activities are destroying the natural world, leading to the extinction of animal and plant species at an alarming rate. Now, world leaders are promising action to tackle the problem. But will it be enough?

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Mongabay

September 29, 2020
In the midst of a planetary biodiversity crisis, 71 world leaders have endorsed the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

Jacinda Ardern, Prince Charles, Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, and Justin Trudeau, are among those who signed the pledge, stating the world is in a “state of planetary emergency: the interdependent crises of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation and climate change” and that this emergency requires “urgent and immediate global action.”

News of the leaders’ participation, announced Sept. 28, comes ahead of the United Nations Summit on Biodiversity this week. It builds upon mounting support for a science-based target: to protect 30% of the planet by 2030, which is included in the most recent draft of the U.N.’s Convention on Biological Diversity as one of its 20 post-2020 strategies.

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The Independent

September 29, 2020
While 64 countries have signed a global pledge aimed at halting the catastrophic decline of biodiversity, several major nations remain conspicuous in their refusal to work together for the Paris agreement style global commitment to reduce humanity’s impact on the natural world.

These include Australia, Russia, the US and China, whose governments all control vast tracts of land and sea.

Other notable absences were Brazil and Indonesia - two hotspots of major deforestation.

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Thomson Reuters Foundation

September 29, 2020
This year has revealed the extent to which nature underpins our human health, security and prosperity. The warming climate and rapid loss of biodiversity is sounding a planetary emergency alarm.

Our encroachment on nature has unleashed a global pandemic this year and a resulting economic crisis, while people around the world are facing ravaging forest fires, extreme weather events, droughts, record heat waves, rising sea levels, ocean degradation, air pollution and looming food insecurity.

The global community must act urgently and decisively. There is no single solution to the emergency - we will need to undertake systemic transformation of our economies and our societies.

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Yahoo News!

September 28, 2020
Britain and Canada on Monday joined the European Union in pledging to protect 30% of their land and seas by 2030 to stem "catastrophic" biodiversity loss and help galvanise support for broader agreement on the target ahead of a U.N. summit.

With the twin crises of climate change and wildlife loss accelerating, leaders are trying to build momentum ahead of the meeting in Kunming, China, in May, where nearly 200 countries will negotiate a new agreement on protecting nature.

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Radio Canada International

September 28, 2020
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is calling on the world’s largest countries to commit to protecting 30 per cent of their lands and waters to stop the loss of the planet’s biodiversity.

Trudeau made that call today at a special session of the United Nations via video conference on the sidelines of the virtual General Assembly meeting.

Trudeau was taking part in the Leaders Event for Nature and People that also featured the leaders of Costa Rica and Norway.

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Euronews

September 28, 2020
The UK has pledged to protect 30 per cent of its land by 2030, in a bid to safeguard biodiversity.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is formalising this commitment today as part of the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature, a global campaign backed by heads of state from around the world. Over 60 world leaders have signed the pledge, committing to fight pollution, eliminate plastic waste from the oceans, and encourage sustainable economic policies.

The UK is one of the first nations to outline its plan for meeting the 30x30 goal launched by the Campaign for Nature earlier this year. The campaign calls for 30 per cent of the planet’s land to be designated as a protected area in order to halt wildlife loss, as well as boost the global economy.

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Thomson Reuters Foundation

September 28, 2020
Protecting the planet's plants, animals and ecosystems, and repairing the damage done to them by humans will take about $700 billion a year in extra funding over the next decade, requiring a huge boost in investment by governments and business, officials said on Monday.

The call came as Britain and Canada joined a coalition of countries that have promised to protect 30% of their land and seas by 2030 to stem "catastrophic" biodiversity loss.

The two nations also signed up to a separate pledge, uniting 70 countries and the European Union, to reverse the loss of biodiversity by 2030 through a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, tackling pollution and deforestation, and boosting financing to safeguard the planet, among other commitments.

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The Hill - OpEd

September 28, 2020
This month, world leaders are convening for the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly. While nations will sign a declaration marking the milestone, the reality is that this is no time to rest or to celebrate.

Interlinked challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and economic recovery will be in full focus during UNGA, and the 75th session will culminate with a special high-level Summit on Biodiversity on Sept. 30. There are many overlapping crises that the world is facing, from a global health crisis to record job losses to a growing recognition of long standing systemic racism and growing inequality. 

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The Guardian

September 27, 2020
World leaders have pledged to clamp down on pollution, embrace sustainable economic systems and eliminate the dumping of plastic waste in oceans by the middle of the century as part of “meaningful action” to halt the destruction of nature on Earth.

Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Justin Trudeau, Jacinda Ardern and Boris Johnson are among 64 leaders from five continents warning that humanity is in a state of planetary emergency due to the climate crisis and the rampant destruction of life-sustaining ecosystems. To restore the balance with nature, governments and the European Union have made a 10-point pledge to counteract the damage to systems that underpin human health and wellbeing.

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Campaign For Nature

September 23, 2020
A complement to the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook, the second Local Biodiversity Outlooks assesses the views and contributions of Indigenous and Local Communities (IPLCs) to the conservation of biodiversity, finding their their vital role has been “disregarded,” to date, marking a “missed opportunity” as the world seeks to address the dual challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.

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The Guardian

September 18, 2020

Sir David Attenborough’s soothing, matter-of-fact narrations have brought the natural world to our living rooms for nearly seven decades and counting. From Australia’s Great Barrier Reef to the jungles of central Africa, the 94-year-old broadcaster has dazzled and delighted millions with tales of life on Earth – mostly pristine and untouched, according to the images on our screens. But this autumn Attenborough has returned with a different message: nature is collapsing around us.

“We are facing a crisis. One that has consequences for us all. It threatens our ability to feed ourselves, to control our climate. It even puts us at greater risk of pandemic diseases such as Covid-19,” he warned in Extinction: The Facts on BBC One primetime, receiving five-star reviews.

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