How do we know we are living through a triple planetary crisis? On one hand, according to WWF’s Living Planet Report (2022), between 1970 and 2018 “an average decline of 69% was evidenced in the monitored wildlife populations” [1], demonstrating the negative impact of human actions on nature. And, addressing the implications that anthropogenic environmental degradation has on society itself, in 2021 it was reported how “air pollution caused 8.1 million deaths worldwide” [2].
In addition to the figures above and their severity, this crisis also includes one of the impacts that has been most relevant in recent years for encompassing a variety of long-term irreversible changes for nature and people.
This change is evidenced by understanding that 2023 “was the warmest year on record, with a temperature 1.45 °C above the pre-industrial average” [3]. And, according to studies by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), reaching the global average temperature limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius would mean facing “climate-related risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security, and economic growth” [4].
That is why the triple planetary crisis refers to these three main global environmental problems: #ClimateChange, #Pollution, and Loss of #Biodiversity, driven by development models detached from sustainability.
Understanding the magnitude of each one, the 1992 Rio Earth Summit established three interrelated conventions that seek joint solutions to contribute to mitigating the climate crisis and various environmental challenges, through policies and international cooperation. Within the context of these conventions, the Conferences of the Parties #COP take place, where the signatories of the countries that are part of the treaty gather to advance their objectives.
It is essential to highlight that, despite the frameworks each one establishes, their greatest impact must be evidenced in the cooperation and implementation each country carries out in relation to these problems, in which public and private participation are indispensable.
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🌎 The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change establishes the guidelines for addressing the impacts of Climate Change, so its main objective lies in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and limiting global warming. COP29 on climate change will be held in Baku (Azerbaijan), from November 11 to 22, 2024.
🪨 The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification aims to prevent desertification and land degradation, recover desertified lands, and rehabilitate degraded ones; promoting resilience and sustainable resource management. COP16 on desertification will be held in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), from December 2 to 13, 2024.
🦜 The Convention on Biological Diversity addresses ecosystems, species, and genetic resources, and aims to ensure their conservation and fair use. #COP16 on biological diversity will be held in #Cali #Colombia, from Monday, October 21 to November 1.
Since the first COP of these three conventions, #COP16Colombia, will take place in a few days, it is important to know that it aims to advance the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (adopted at COP15). This framework has three main goals [5]: (i) Reduce threats to biodiversity, (ii) Meet people’s needs through sustainable use and benefit-sharing, and (iii) Tools and solutions for implementation and mainstreaming; and it addresses twenty-three targets as presented below:
Image taken from: Cali Chamber of Commerce
#COP16 has opened a variety of initiatives for different actors to get involved in the proposals, lessons, and solutions that will be addressed. That is why we invite you to participate in them to strengthen your sustainability capabilities.
And, very especially, we recommend the panel AI Plenary: How is AI revolutionizing nature finance?, a key space for understanding how #ArtificialIntelligence is transforming the mobilization of resources for projects that protect the environment, in which our CEO, Viviana Bohórquez, will participate as a panelist. Learn all the details of date, place, and registration HERE.
Ultimately, as a foundation for defining and implementing international policies and national actions to mitigate the triple planetary crisis, it is also indispensable to “transform humanity’s relationship with nature to achieve a sustainable future” [6]. How do you think our development and consumption models should evolve, understanding this need as a key point? Tell us in the comments!
References
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WWF. Living Planet Report. 2022. Media Summary. Available at: https://wwflac.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/informe_planeta_vivo_2022_de_wwf_resumen_para_medios__1.pdf
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United Nations. 2024. UN News: Air pollution caused 8.1 million deaths worldwide in 2021. Available at: https://news.un.org/es/story/2024/06/1530631
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World Meteorological Organization, State of the Global Climate 2023. WMO Library, 2024. Key Messages.** Available at: https://library.wmo.int/viewer/6883 5/download?file=1347_Global- statement- 2023_en.pdf&type=pdf&navigator=1
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Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C: Summary for Policymakers. 2018. p. 11. Available at:https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/IPCC-Special-Report-1.5-SPM_es.pdf
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Chaves et al., 2024. ABC of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: global agenda, challenges and opportunities in Colombia. WWF Colombia.
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United Nations Environment Programme. 2021. Making Peace with Nature: A scientific blueprint to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergencies. Nairobi. https://www.unep.org/resources/making-peace-nature