In a groundbreaking move at the World Climate Action Summit, COP28 and its partners unveiled a series of ambitious initiatives, backed by an initial commitment of $1.7 billion, aimed at concurrently addressing climate change and biodiversity goals. The COP28 Presidency, led by President Lula da Silva, declared a two-year partnership to mobilise resources and political support for nature on the road to COP30 in Belém.
“Ensuring that nature, in its total and most holistic form, is recognised, supported, and funded as a prerequisite to climate action has been a priority for the COP28 Presidency,” stated HE Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28. “This remarkable political leadership, coupled with support and finance from non-state actors, is a testament to the fundamental role of nature not just for this COP but for all future COPs to come.”
During the session, heads of state and government revealed national and regional investment plans and partnerships focused on nature-climate action to fulfil the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the recently adopted Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
HE Razan Al Mubarak announced the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) contribution of $100 million for nature-climate projects, with an initial $30 million investment in Ghana’s ‘Resilient Ghana’ plan. This plan, launched by Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, received an additional $80 million in support from Canada, Singapore, the United States, and private sector initiatives like the LEAF Coalition.
Prime Minister Siaosi ‘Ofakivahafolau Sovaleni of Tonga pledged $100 million from the Bezos Earth Fund for the ‘Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity Plan’ to protect 30% of the countries’ waters and exclusive economic zones by 2030.
Philanthropies, including Bloomberg Philanthropies, Builders Vision, and Oceankind, committed $250 million under the Ocean Resilience Climate Alliance (ORCA) to protect vulnerable marine areas, support ocean-based mitigation efforts, and conduct research on climate impacts.
French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed funding for forest finance packages, allocating $100 million for Papua New Guinea, USD $60 million for the Democratic Republic of Congo, and $50 million for the Republic of Congo to drive private finance through verifiable carbon credit transactions.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre highlighted a $100 million partnership in support of Indonesia’s pioneering FOLU Net Sink 2030 plan.
The Asian Development Bank, OPEC Fund, Saudi Arabia, AFD, France, and the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility at the Green Climate Fund announced the Nature Finance Hub. This new initiative commits to mobilise $1 billion from development partners, with the intention of attracting an additional $2 billion in private finance capital by 2030 for nature-focused climate projects.
These nature-climate plans build on previous commitments, including COP26’s Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, both aiming to halt and reverse forest loss, land degradation, and total nature loss by 2030.
Addressing nature loss not only saves USD $104 billion in adaptation costs but also provides over 30% of the required CO2 mitigation action by 2030. Recognising that around 50% of global GDP depends on nature and ecosystem services, the conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems are seen as crucial for economic prosperity, potentially creating nearly 395 billion jobs and protecting 1 billion people whose livelihoods rely on nature.
Leaders, including María José Andrade Cerda from the Kichwa de Serena Indigenous Peoples of Ecuador, acknowledged the pivotal role of Indigenous communities in conserving ecosystems. Despite representing only 5% of the global population, Indigenous Peoples safeguard 80 percent of the world’s remaining biodiversity. The UAE-Brazil COP28-to-COP30 partnership will focus on the knowledge and development of these communities.
