UN Chief at COP30: Safeguarding Forests and Oceans for Climate Stability

The Climate Crisis and the Urgency for Action

• 🌡️ Science indicates that a 1.5°C temperature overshoot by the end of the century is now inevitable, but immediate action is crucial to keep it as small and short as possible.
• ⚠️ Every fraction of a degree matters, and any delay in addressing climate change is indefensible.

Protecting Forests

• 🌳 Forests, vital for climate stability and biodiversity, are being destroyed and degraded, which must end now.
• 🌲 We must halt deforestation by 2030, protect intact tropical and boreal forests, conserve peatlands, end illegal logging, and eliminate deforestation from supply chains.
• 🌱 Restoring degraded land with nature-based solutions can protect watersheds, reduce disaster risk, and create green jobs.

Safeguarding Oceans

• 🌊 Oceans absorb a quarter of human CO2 emissions and most excess heat, but they are warming, acidifying, and rising, threatening lives and economies.
• 🐠 We must enhance coastal protection, restore coral reefs, seagrass, and mangroves, tackle pollution, and expand effectively managed marine protected areas.
• 🤝 Delivering on the 30x30 goal to protect 30% of land and ocean by 2030 is essential.

Honoring Indigenous Peoples and Legal Responsibilities

• ⚖️ The International Court of Justice has highlighted that nations are obligated to cooperate on climate change issues, including sea level rise.
• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Indigenous peoples, who have safeguarded lands and waters for millennia, receive insufficient climate finance and recognition; their rights and participation must be upheld.
• 💰 Protecting forests and oceans is not charity but a legal, moral, and economic responsibility.