Nature-based solutions for climate change: from global ambition to local action

The world is facing two unprecedented environmental crises: biodiversity loss and climate change. The causes of these challenges are interrelated, as are the solutions.

On 22 May, 2020, the International Day of Biological Diversity, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) hosted a webinar to discuss how we can translate the global ambition around nature-based solutions for climate change into local action.

The panellists were Alex White, International Climate and Strategy, and Sarah Nelson, head of policy oversight in the International Environmental Conventions Team, both of the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA); Chip Cunliffe, sustainable development director for AXA XL; and Musonda Kapena, CEO of the Zambia National Forest Commodities Association. The chair was Xiaoting Hou-Jones, senior researcher in IIED’s Natural Resources research group.

This online event brought together government, private sector and practitioners to discuss how we can translate global ambitions on nature-based solutions into local actions that can benefit those most vulnerable to climate change. It asked:

*How can NbS move us from business as usual and deliver changes we need urgently and at scale?
*How can NbS be financed so the resources can reach communities who are already bearing the brunt of climate change impacts?
*How can those who have been implementing NbS, including indigenous peoples and local communities, be supported to work with nature at scale?