Event description

Climate change and biodiversity loss are two sides of the same coin, being both driven by human activities and have significant interconnected effects on ecosystems and the environment. Climate change impacts biodiversity by altering temperatures, precipitation patterns, and ecosystems, forcing species to adapt, migrate, or face extinction. Conversely, biodiversity loss exacerbates climate change as ecosystems play a crucial role in carbon sequestration and regulating the Earth's climate, and in helping humans facing increasing exposure and vulnerability to adapt to a changing world.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which was adopted at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2022, acknowledges this intersectionality, while also recognizing that successful biodiversity conservation and restoration efforts are pivotal to addressing climate change and sustainable development challenges. By conserving and restoring biodiversity-rich habitats like forests, wetlands, and oceans, the Framework can enhance the planet's resilience to climate impacts by making ecosystems and people better equipped to cope with climate-induced disturbances.

Both crises call for global collaboration and synergistic implementation to achieve their ambitious objectives. Tackling climate change and biodiversity loss necessitate integrated efforts, as addressing one challenge without considering the other can lead to unintended consequences. United Nations entities working with countries, stakeholders and the private sector play a central role in guiding this synergy and cohesiveness through cooperation and leadership in responding to the needs of countries, including those that are the most vulnerable, most frequently impacted by climate impacts and environmental degradation, and most in need of support.

This event will have speakers from a range of UN agencies that are working on this intersection, as well as representatives from countries and major stakeholders, to emphasise where support is needed, and to discuss where efforts are especially needed throughout the current decade and beyond.

The event is expected to demonstrate a united partnership between UN agencies to address biodiversity loss and climate change impacts, highlighting areas of collaboration that enable synergistic implementation of global frameworks at national level, and responding to the needs of countries and other stakeholders. Ongoing efforts and partnerships to build coherence across policy processes in support of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework will be presented. These includes linking with the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, as well as emphasizing specific sectoral links such as agriculture and finance. The need to recognize, respect and promote traditional knowledge, cultures and practices, and the importance of a just and equitable transition will be highlighted.

Event style

The side event will take the form of a moderated fireside chat, inviting participants to exchange views and experiences. To enable a fruitful discussion, the fireside chat will be facilitated by a moderator who will structure the exchange around three focus questions. To engage the audience and steer the conversation, the moderator may opt to invite questions from the audience. The event will be in English only.

Contact Tristan Tyrrell [email protected] for further questions.