Natural Climate Solutions must embrace multiple perspectives to ensure synergy with sustainable development
To limit global warming to well below 2°C, immediate emissions reductions must be coupled with active removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. “Natural Climate Solutions” (NCS) achieve atmospheric CO2 reduction through the conservation, restoration, or altered management of natural ecosystem...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-07-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Climate |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fclim.2023.1216175/full |
| _version_ | 1797780153207619584 |
|---|---|
| author | Bonnie G. Waring Bonnie G. Waring Angelo Gurgel Alexandre C. Köberle Sergey Paltsev Joeri Rogelj Joeri Rogelj Joeri Rogelj |
| author_facet | Bonnie G. Waring Bonnie G. Waring Angelo Gurgel Alexandre C. Köberle Sergey Paltsev Joeri Rogelj Joeri Rogelj Joeri Rogelj |
| author_sort | Bonnie G. Waring |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | To limit global warming to well below 2°C, immediate emissions reductions must be coupled with active removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. “Natural Climate Solutions” (NCS) achieve atmospheric CO2 reduction through the conservation, restoration, or altered management of natural ecosystems, with enormous potential to deliver “win-win-win” outcomes for climate, nature and society. Yet the supply of high-quality NCS projects does not meet market demand, and projects already underway often fail to deliver their promised benefits, due to a complex set of interacting ecological, social, and financial constraints. How can these cross-sectoral challenges be surmounted? Here we draw from expert elicitation surveys and workshops with professionals across the ecological, sociological, and economic sciences, evaluating differing perspectives on NCS, and suggesting how these might be integrated to address urgent environmental challenges. We demonstrate that funders” perceptions of operational, political, and regulatory risk strongly shape the kinds of NCS projects that are implemented, and the locations where they occur. Because of this, greenhouse gas removal through NCS may fall far short of technical potential. Moreover, socioecological co-benefits of NCS are unlikely to be realized unless the local communities engaged with these projects are granted ownership over implementation and outcomes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T23:40:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2a9e9c192bd04e979593059c7d8d29f9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2624-9553 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T23:40:26Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Climate |
| spelling | doaj.art-2a9e9c192bd04e979593059c7d8d29f92023-07-14T16:53:54ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Climate2624-95532023-07-01510.3389/fclim.2023.12161751216175Natural Climate Solutions must embrace multiple perspectives to ensure synergy with sustainable developmentBonnie G. Waring0Bonnie G. Waring1Angelo Gurgel2Alexandre C. Köberle3Sergey Paltsev4Joeri Rogelj5Joeri Rogelj6Joeri Rogelj7Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London, London, United KingdomGeorgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Imperial College London, London, United KingdomMIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United StatesGrantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London, London, United KingdomMIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United StatesGrantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London, London, United KingdomCentre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, London, United KingdomEnergy, Climate, and Environment Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, AustriaTo limit global warming to well below 2°C, immediate emissions reductions must be coupled with active removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. “Natural Climate Solutions” (NCS) achieve atmospheric CO2 reduction through the conservation, restoration, or altered management of natural ecosystems, with enormous potential to deliver “win-win-win” outcomes for climate, nature and society. Yet the supply of high-quality NCS projects does not meet market demand, and projects already underway often fail to deliver their promised benefits, due to a complex set of interacting ecological, social, and financial constraints. How can these cross-sectoral challenges be surmounted? Here we draw from expert elicitation surveys and workshops with professionals across the ecological, sociological, and economic sciences, evaluating differing perspectives on NCS, and suggesting how these might be integrated to address urgent environmental challenges. We demonstrate that funders” perceptions of operational, political, and regulatory risk strongly shape the kinds of NCS projects that are implemented, and the locations where they occur. Because of this, greenhouse gas removal through NCS may fall far short of technical potential. Moreover, socioecological co-benefits of NCS are unlikely to be realized unless the local communities engaged with these projects are granted ownership over implementation and outcomes.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fclim.2023.1216175/fullNatural Climate Solutionsreforestationgreen financeindigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs)expert elicitation |
| spellingShingle | Bonnie G. Waring Bonnie G. Waring Angelo Gurgel Alexandre C. Köberle Sergey Paltsev Joeri Rogelj Joeri Rogelj Joeri Rogelj Natural Climate Solutions must embrace multiple perspectives to ensure synergy with sustainable development Frontiers in Climate Natural Climate Solutions reforestation green finance indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) expert elicitation |
| title | Natural Climate Solutions must embrace multiple perspectives to ensure synergy with sustainable development |
| title_full | Natural Climate Solutions must embrace multiple perspectives to ensure synergy with sustainable development |
| title_fullStr | Natural Climate Solutions must embrace multiple perspectives to ensure synergy with sustainable development |
| title_full_unstemmed | Natural Climate Solutions must embrace multiple perspectives to ensure synergy with sustainable development |
| title_short | Natural Climate Solutions must embrace multiple perspectives to ensure synergy with sustainable development |
| title_sort | natural climate solutions must embrace multiple perspectives to ensure synergy with sustainable development |
| topic | Natural Climate Solutions reforestation green finance indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) expert elicitation |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fclim.2023.1216175/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bonniegwaring naturalclimatesolutionsmustembracemultipleperspectivestoensuresynergywithsustainabledevelopment AT bonniegwaring naturalclimatesolutionsmustembracemultipleperspectivestoensuresynergywithsustainabledevelopment AT angelogurgel naturalclimatesolutionsmustembracemultipleperspectivestoensuresynergywithsustainabledevelopment AT alexandreckoberle naturalclimatesolutionsmustembracemultipleperspectivestoensuresynergywithsustainabledevelopment AT sergeypaltsev naturalclimatesolutionsmustembracemultipleperspectivestoensuresynergywithsustainabledevelopment AT joerirogelj naturalclimatesolutionsmustembracemultipleperspectivestoensuresynergywithsustainabledevelopment AT joerirogelj naturalclimatesolutionsmustembracemultipleperspectivestoensuresynergywithsustainabledevelopment AT joerirogelj naturalclimatesolutionsmustembracemultipleperspectivestoensuresynergywithsustainabledevelopment |