Establishing a climate target within the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

Target 8 wording in the first draft of the GBF is "Minimize the impact of climate change on biodiversity, contribute to mitigation and adaptation through ecosystem-based approaches, contributing at least 10 GtCO2 per year to global mitigation efforts, and ensure that all mitigation and adaptation efforts avoid negative impacts on biodiversity" The importance of limiting climate change to minimize impacts on biodiversity is generally well accepted by governments—yet climate change mitigation objectives are seen by many governments as the mandate of the climate change convention (UNFCCC). [...]some feel that no explicit objective for climate mitigation should be included in the GBF. The biodiversity convention has accepted the term "ecosystem-based approaches", where the climate convention uses the term "nature-based solutions" in relation to biodiversity-based solutions, such as to carbon sequestration and building adaptive capacity (e.g. reducing the impact of sea level rise). The reasons for this include concerns that: i) this would create overlap or duplication of policy mandates of the UNFCCC and CBD, ii) UNFCCC and GBF objectives might not be quantitatively aligned, iii) mitigation measures will be imposed without consultation with local communities, and iv) a mitigation goal in the GBF could signal that ecosystem-based solutions should be the highest climate change mitigation priority, where in fact there is agreement that the highest priority should be to greatly reduce emissions from production sectors including energy, transport and agriculture (and that failing to do so will compromise nature’s contributions to mitigation) (Table 1).