MEDIA STATEMENT
World Leaders Representing 16 Countries Urge Biden Administration to Prioritize Nature Protection in Climate Agenda
December 21 2020: The Campaign for Nature’s Global Steering Committee -- composed of former heads of state, foreign ministers and diplomats from four continents -- was established earlier this year to call on governments worldwide to support a new global goal to protect at least 30% of the planet’s land and ocean by 2030, which is shown by scientists to be the minimum amount needed to halt global biodiversity loss. The Committee is led by former US Senator and former Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Russ Feingold.
Today, the Global Steering Committee sent letters to Secretary-Designate Antony Blinken and Secretary John Kerry urging them to ensure that any climate strategy developed by the incoming Biden Administration includes an emphasis on biodiversity conservation.
Specifically, the group urged the Biden Administration nominees to support 30% conservation targets at the national and global level, to commit at least 30% of climate funding to focus on nature conservation, and to set a model for the world in advancing a rights-based approach to terrestrial and marine conservation that fully partners with Indigenous Peoples and local communities and advances Indigenous rights.
Russ Feingold, Former US Senator and former Special Envoy to Great Lakes Region of Africa, issued the following statement:
“It is widely understood that time is running out for our leaders to act on the climate crisis. The same is true for the crisis facing the natural world, which now threatens up to one million species with extinction. Climate change and the biodiversity crisis are two sides of the same coin, and it is critical that the incoming Biden Administration works on each of them urgently and at the highest levels.
“Simply put, we cannot achieve the world’s carbon targets without protecting more nature. Land and marine conservation are essential to safeguarding wildlife, clean water, clear air, and the natural systems that serve as the foundation for our economies, food supply, and way of life. It is encouraging that as a candidate, President-elect Biden committed to setting a goal of protecting 30% of the United States’ land and oceans by 2030. I hope that is a sign that the Biden Administration is prepared to prioritize biodiversity conservation and that the United States is poised to re-emerge as a global leader in protecting our natural world.”
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The Campaign for Nature works with scientists, Indigenous Peoples, and a growing coalition of over 100 conservation organizations around the world who are calling on policymakers to commit to clear and ambitious targets to be agreed upon at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming, China in 2021 to protect at least 30 percent of the planet by 2030 and working with Indigenous leaders to ensure full respect for Indigenous rights.
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