High Level event for Nature and People: From Ambition to Action

The world is faced with a planetary emergency caused by interdependent crises including biodiversity loss, climate change, pollution, increasing emergence and threats presented by pandemics of zoonotic origin, food insecurity and debt crises. The stakes could not be higher to secure continuity of all life on earth, and the current decade is decisive. In view of this urgency, a commitment to continued ambition and accelerated action at the highest level will be key to our success in reversing biodiversity loss and achieving a nature positive world by 2030. Without this, it will be impossible to achieve the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Over the past five years, leaders have recognised how fundamental nature is to livelihoods, the economy, and tackling other environmental crises, and have accordingly prioritized nature at the highest level. This has resulted in a number of recent crucial environmental decisions1 including the historic Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and an international legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), both of which recognise the rights and crucial role of Indigenous Peoples in successful and sustainable implementation efforts. These decisions mark a crucial need to shift our global focus from raising ambition on tackling biodiversity loss, to actually delivering on our ambition; doing so will mean accelerating both financing and implementation on the ground.

This year, in the side-lines of the high level week of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People (HAC N&P)2, the Global Ocean Alliance (GOA)3, and the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature (LPN)4 are uniting once more to convene a high level event to demonstrate transformational actions to tackle biodiversity loss.

1. Recent environmental decisions: nature-based solutions, right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, the establishment of a loss and damage fund, agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction under UNCLOS.

2. The High Ambition for Nature & People (HAC for N&P) is a 117 government member coalition that championed the adoption of Target 3 (30by30 target) to protect and conserve at least 30% of the planet’s land and ocean at COP15 and is now driving the implementation of the 30by30 target.

3. The Global Ocean Alliance (GOA) is a 73 country strong alliance that champions ambitious ocean action within the CBD, including the 30by30 ocean target.

4. The Leaders’ Pledge for Nature (LPN) is a leader-level declaration, endorsed by nearly 100 world leaders and over 100 non-state actors, which advocates the reversal of biodiversity loss by 2030.