Conservation International is pressing governments to put nature at the center of climate policy before the COP31 summit in Antalya, Türkiye. In a message ahead of the meeting, the organization's Patricia Zurita argued that protecting and restoring natural systems is among the most practical ways to slow global warming, at a time when the planet is approaching the 1.5°C threshold set out in the Paris Agreement.
The organization says nature could supply as much as 37 percent of the climate solution. Forests, wetlands and mangroves store large amounts of carbon and also shield coastlines from storms and rising seas. Yet, according to the figures cited, only 3 percent of public climate funding goes directly to nature. Zurita's message is that this gap has to close, which would require larger financial commitments and new, innovative ways of raising and directing money toward conservation.
The call also highlights the role of Indigenous, Afro-descendant and local communities, whose stewardship of land and waters the organization describes as critical to climate action. Their knowledge and management of ecosystems, the group argues, should be recognized and supported in the policies that come out of the Antalya talks.
The message comes against a broader debate over the summit. A separate Guardian opinion piece criticized recent Australian approvals for coal and gas projects ahead of COP31, framing them as a matter of climate injustice. The excerpt available does not give figures for that argument, and it does not specify which commitments or financing mechanisms will be put forward at the summit, or what outcomes the meeting will produce.
Credit. Based on reporting by Conservation International for YouTube. Is this your work? Write to us.
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