Leaving no one behind in our quest for Net Zero and Nature Positive
The omnipresent nature of climate change and the interconnectedness of the world's challenges demand a holistic and coordinated response from the government, business and civil society.
One of the most pertinent examples is the incontrovertible nexus between efforts to decarbonise the global atmosphere through massive emissions reductions, preserve and enhance natural carbon sinks and biodiversity, and produce equitable growth opportunities for the billions of people who cannot afford them. These three great missions are so closely intertwined that they must be pursued and coordinated. Otherwise, there is a major risk that well-intentioned progress in any of these domains could thwart progress in others.
This dynamic is particularly pertinent across the Global South, which is home to 75% of the world’s population and is already bearing the brunt of climate change, with issues like extreme heat, water scarcity, and poor air quality creating systemic challenges. This is even though the wealthiest 10% of the world have per capita carbon footprints 11 times higher than the poorest 50% of the global population, which is why the COP28 Presidency has placed such emphasis on facilitating the authentic inclusion and engagement of nations and businesses across emerging markets and developing economies, where decision-makers are far too often being asked to make impossible choices between climate action and human development.
Against this backdrop, it is clear that we can no longer afford to decouple the human development agenda – which encompasses 12 of the 17 United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) – from the climate and nature agenda. They are two sides of the same coin, and the edge of that coin is a conducive and inclusive climate policy that embraces a greener evolution of all of our systems whilst ensuring all lives and livelihoods are positively impacted. This is not just a lofty ambition. It is our only realistic option if we are serious about addressing climate change and nature loss in a way that leaves no one behind.
What does this mean in practice?
Above all, decarbonisation and biodiversity protection strategies must be designed and implemented in a manner that upholds, rather than undermines, the UN’s central goals of ending poverty and enhancing the quality of life for all 8 billion of our fellow citizens worldwide today and in future generations. This must be the foundation of a just transition. After all, the extraordinary increase in access to affordable and reliable energy, closely linked to cheap food supplies, has been the foundation for transforming billions of people’s lives, access to healthcare and life expectancy over decades. It is absurdly immoral to expect that billions of people worldwide, including the 800 million without access to electricity today and the 2.3 billion with no access to clean cooking fuels, will not seek to improve the quality and longevity
of their lives similarly. Inhibiting economic and human development, which is undeniably underpinned by affordable and accessible energy and has seen global poverty rates fall by over 75% since the 1990s, is not an option.
Finally, we can no longer see nature as ornamental. We must embrace the reality that it is fundamental in our collective quest for a net zero and prosperous existence, so we need to see a massive scale-up in global investments in nature and biodiversity, recognising that they are integral to pursuing our climate and human development goals. This is an incredibly vital opportunity, with the potential for nature-based solutions to generate one-third of the emissions reduction pathway required to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
Perhaps the one thing that everyone can agree on is that the approach thus far hasn’t worked. Global emissions are 50% higher today than at the first COP meeting in 1995. International poverty reduction rates are slowing. Biodiversity is under more significant threat today than ever in recorded history. As the second week of the already transformative COP28 conference begins, it is upon us all, across all sectors, to continue to bridge the trust divide. We can do this by providing much-needed confidence to all communities of the world that climate change and nature loss is being addressed in a way that advances, rather than threatens, the ongoing march out of poverty for billions of people.
Badr Jafar is the COP28 Special Representative for Business & Philanthropy