Recommendation 31

HM Government Not Addressed

We know that addressing climate change is not possible without also addressing biodiversity loss, and vice versa. The UK is addressing these dual threats together and placed nature at the heart of our presidency of the UNFCCC COP26. Many of the outcomes from COP26 have positive implications for nature (please see the summary of outcomes listed in part three of HMG’s response to recommendation 10). Securing the outcomes on tackling deforestation and land-use change, nature-based solutions, and increasing the finance (public and private) flowing to nature at COP26 will be mutually beneficial for the success of CBD COP15. As hosts of COP26, we are in a unique position to work with China to integrate global action on climate change and biodiversity to achieve the step-change needed to tackle these global issues. There has been regular and productive engagement between the UK and China in the preparations for COP15 and COP26. For instance, UK COP President Designate Alok Sharma travelled to China in September for extensive discussions with China’s Special Envoy for Climate Change, Minister Xie Zhenhua, and held calls with China’s Environment Minister, Energy Minister, and Vice-Premier. The UK has worked alongside China on the ‘Kunming Declaration’, which highlights the synergies between COP26 and COP15 and will help in maintaining global political momentum to adopt an ambitious post-2020 global framework. We will continue to welcome constructive cooperation together with China in this super year for nature. China has also endorsed the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on forests and land-use, which aims to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030, and the Glasgow breakthrough statements. In our capacity as COP26 President, we are also working with the Rio Convention Presidencies (including China as CBD COP15 President), Secretariats and the GEF on joint activities that promote integrated approaches to tackling biodiversity loss, climate change, and land degradation. These joint activities will take place ahead of, at, and after our respective COPs, to build political will and global momentum on the importance of integration, whilst also facilitating knowledge-sharing on areas including nature-based solutions. This initiative strongly reinforces the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature (LPN) which includes a key commitment to end siloed approaches across interlinked environmental crises and seeks to drive and maintain momentum on nature in advance of, and following, COP26 and COP15. The LPN has so far been signed by 94 world leaders (including the EU) and over 100 non-state actors. Together, these endorsers represent 38% of global GDP and over 2 billion people, signifying a groundswell of ambition to tackle the twin crises of climate and biodiversity loss. We encourage all countries that have not yet done so to sign the LPN. Although China have not yet endorsed it, we will continue to engage them on the LPN and they remain supportive of the initiative having worked closely with us in their capacity as the incoming CBD COP15 President. H.E. Mr. Huang Runqiu, the Chinese Minister of Ecology and Environment recently spoke at the joint High-Level UNGA76 event ‘Transformative Action for Nature & People’ in support of the LPN, the Global Ocean Alliance and High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People.