Speech at COP 28 side event “Scaling-up nature-based solutions for climate, nature and people”

“Scaling-up NBS for climate, nature and people

• Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
• Thank you for joining this event that we are organising together with the European Investment Bank.
• We are looking here at one of the good news stories about protecting the climate.
• And not just the climate, but the triple crisis that threatens the world – climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
• Nature-based solutions are an answer to all of them.
• This is clear. But what we know less clearly is how they can be delivered at scale. Our hope is that today's event will inspire minds to think in this direction, and continue to strengthen the case for these multitasking solutions.
• I am going to kick things off with some of the main ideas that the EU is bringing to the table. Three big ones come to mind.
• First of all, making the most of existing structures. Let's make absolutely sure that nature-based solutions are properly identified in both Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement, and in revised National Biodiversity Strategies, Action Plans and national biodiversity targets under the Global Biodiversity Framework.
• This will take some coordination and cooperation. Not just between climate and environment ministries, but with ministries of finance and others too. We need to see a whole-of-government approach.
• Secondly, we need to build up knowledge at all levels.
• I am very proud of how we are doing this in Europe. The Commission, in its Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe research programmes, is funding at least 74 projects on nature-based solutions, with a total contribution of EUR 654 million.
• These projects have 1379 different partner organisations in 70 different countries, and there is a high involvement of cities and municipalities. For a number of these projects, close work is ensured with a wide variety of stakeholders, in the fields of agriculture, finance and insurance, navigation, or water management.
• There is a wealth of work produced under these projects, and that work is accessible to all.
• That includes:
• a European Roadmap to 2030 for Research & Innovation,
• a Methodology and practical guidance to assess the impact of these solutions, and
• a Urban Governance Atlas, which contains details on some 250 good practice policy instruments.
• We also offer practical guidance for businesses through regional and national Nature-Based Solutions hubs that serve local needs and address local specificities.
• There is also a growing European community of practitioners, who keep in touch through an active knowledge broker called NetworkNature.
• The third main strand of our efforts to increase the uptake of nature-based solutions is the policy route that governments can take. In the EU we are doing this with a coming law on Nature Restoration.
• The aim here is to begin repairing the damage that's been done to ecosystems across the whole continent. It should set binding targets to restore 20% of EU lands and sea by 2030, and all areas in need of restoration by 2050.
• It will play an essential role in helping the EU meet its international obligations under the Global Biodiversity Framework, as well as under the Paris Agreement and the Desertification Convention.
• I said three main options, but allow me to add one more.
• And that is, integrating nature-based solutions to our financing and to our financing instruments. Ahead of CBD COP15, the Commission committed to doubling our international biodiversity financing, in particular for the most vulnerable countries. We are in full implementation.
• But we cannot do this alone. It is essential to work with the private sector, with philanthropists and with international financial institutions. My special thanks to the European Investment Bank in this regard, with whom we co-organise this event. I'm sure the panels will provide much greater insights into this.
• Thank you again for coming, and I look forward to hearing your ideas!