A Campaign for Natural Solutions to the Climate Crisis

A natural solution to the climate disaster

Climate and ecological crises can be tackled by restoring forests and other valuable ecosystems, say scientists and activists

Letters | April 3, 2019 | The Guardian

The world faces two existential crises, developing with terrifying speed: climate breakdown and ecological breakdown. Neither is being addressed with the urgency needed to prevent our life-support systems from spiralling into collapse. We are writing to champion a thrilling but neglected approach to averting climate chaos while defending the living world: natural climate solutions. This means drawing carbon dioxide out of the air by protecting and restoring ecosystems.

By defending, restoring and re-establishing forests, peatlands, mangroves, salt marshes, natural seabeds and other crucial ecosystems, large amounts of carbon can be removed from the air and stored. At the same time, the protection and restoration of these ecosystems can help minimize a sixth great extinction, while enhancing local people’s resilience against climate disaster. Defending the living world and defending the climate are, in many cases, one and the same. This potential has so far been largely overlooked.

We call on governments to support natural climate solutions with an urgent program of research, funding and political commitment. It is essential that they work with the guidance and free, prior and informed consent of indigenous people and other local communities.

This approach should not be used as a substitute for the rapid and comprehensive de-carbonisation of industrial economies. A committed and well-funded program to address all the causes of climate chaos, including natural climate solutions, could help us hold the heating of the planet below 1.5C.

We ask that they are deployed with the urgency these crises demand.

Greta Thunberg Activist
Margaret Atwood Author
Michael Mann Distinguished professor of atmospheric science
Naomi Klein Author and campaigner
Mohamed Nasheed Former president, the Maldives
Rowan Williams former Archbishop of Canterbury
Dia Mirza Actor and UN environment goodwill ambassador
Brian Eno Musician and artist
Philip Pullman Author
Bill McKibben Author and campaigner
Simon Lewis Professor of global change science
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Presenter and author
Charlotte Wheeler Forest restoration scientist
David Suzuki Scientist and author
Anohni Musician and artist
Asha de Vos Marine biologist
Yeb Saño Activist
Bittu Sahgal Founder, Sanctuary Nature Foundation
John Sauven Executive director, Greenpeace UK
Craig Bennett CEO, Friends of the Earth
Ruth Davis Deputy director of global programmes, RSPB
Rebecca Wrigley Chief executive, Rewilding Britain
George Monbiot Journalist

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For additional details, see:

The natural world can help save us from climate catastrophe

Ecological restoration can be a powerful means of protecting the atmosphere – we need to rewild on a massive scale 

By George Monbiot | April 3, 2019 |  The Guardian

New York must Lead the Fight against Climate Change - Take Action!

Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he plans to appoint Scott Pruitt as Administrator for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

In response, NY Renews, a statewide coalition of 100 environmental, community, and labor groups, released the following statement: 

“The nomination of Scott Pruitt as EPA Administrator is an unmitigated disaster, yet more proof that the Trump administration intends to willfully ignore science and push our planet toward the brink of catastrophe, all at the bidding of the sole constituency they truly represent: the corporate elite.

As a former fossil fuel industry lobbyist, Scott Pruitt’s only expertise lies in lining the pockets of his friends in Big Oil, at the expense of the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans, especially poor people and people of color already feeling the impacts of climate change.

In the face of the Trump administration’s rapacious greed, New York must lead the country in the fight against climate change. NY Renews is calling on Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to reject this nominee, and for Governor Cuomo to lead boldly in this moment of crisis. The Governor can stand up to Trump by proposing the nation’s most ambitious climate policy—the Climate and Community Protection Act—as a key component of his budget.

By mandating that New York de-carbonize its economy (the world’s 12th largest) by 2050, while protecting disadvantaged communities on the front lines and creating thousands of good green jobs, New York can break through the Trump administration’s corrupt lies and send a signal to the rest of the world: that we are strong, united, and more determined than ever to rise to the challenge of climate change.

Let Trump and his cronies shirk the responsibilities of history. New York needs to lead the way, now more than ever.”

TAKE ACTION: Tell Gov. Cuomo to be a Climate Leader! 
Join our fight by signing our petition - Click here
Local members of NY Renews include the Climate Justice Coalition of WNY, Interfaith Climate Justice Community, Open Buffalo, Partnership for the Public Good, PUSH Buffalo, Sierra Club, WNYCOSH, Massachusetts Avenue Project and Grassroots Gardens WNY.

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EPA chief Scott Pruitt. Adam Zyglis / The Buffalo News