A joint climate and nature cure: A transformative change perspective

Ambio. 2022 Jun;51(6):1459-1473. doi: 10.1007/s13280-021-01679-8. Epub 2022 Jan 25.

Abstract

Climate change has considerably dominated science-policy dialogue, public debate, and subsequently environmental policies since the three "Rio Conventions" were born. This has led to practically independent courses of action of climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation actions, neglecting potential conflicts among outcomes and with missed opportunities for synergistic measures. Transformative governance principles have been proposed to overcome these limitations. Using a transformative governance lens, we use the case of the Norwegian "Climate Cure 2030" for the Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector to, first, illustrate the mechanisms that have led to the choice of climate mitigation measures; second, to analyze the potential consequences of these measures on biodiversity and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; and, third, to evaluate alternative measures with potential positive outcomes for biodiversity and GHG emissions/removals. We point to some mechanisms that could support the implementation of these positive actions.

Keywords: Biodiversity conservation; Climate mitigation; Cross-sectoral integration; Informed decisions; Natural climate solutions.

MeSH terms

  • Biodiversity
  • Climate Change*
  • Conservation of Natural Resources*
  • Forestry