CI is tackling climate change by protecting valuable ecosystems.

CI is an active proponent of climate change solutions, contributing to the policies, markets, technical guidance and capacity for effective ecosystem-based mitigation and adaptation. By developing robust and innovative measures to halt deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, CI is working to prevent 1-2 billion tons of annual carbon dioxide emissions.

CI has also identified goals that, when accomplished, will help vulnerable communities adapt to the negative affects of climate change, including protecting and restoring critical watersheds; conserving marine ecosystems that provide important areas for fisheries and coastal protection; and developing integrated landscape management systems to increase the adaptive capacity of farming communities.

To accomplish these goals, CI is:

1. Supporting the development of effective national and regional plans, policies, institutions and implementation capacity through support of developing country governments and civil society, as well as innovative field actions. CI is working with government partners to develop national climate and low-carbon development plans addressing mitigation and adaptation needs. CI is building “REDD Readiness” capacity from national to local scales to develop immediate, sustainable alternatives to deforestation and deliver REDD incentives to the forest frontier. CI’s science team is forging new ground in the methodologies of forest and land use mitigation, adaptation and project design and will publish studies and research supporting the case for REDD and adaptation measures.

2. Contributing to the development of an effective international framework of policies and markets grounded in rigorous scientific knowledge. CI is working with governments, civil society, communities, indigenous peoples, private sector and academia to conclude a global climate agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that recognizes the importance of
   • REDD
   • ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation
   • aggressive emissions reduction targets
   • robust and sustainable financing, and
   • the effective, transparent inclusion of indigenous peoples
   CI is working with partners to influence policies, market development and actions at all levels, from local to national, starting with key influencers in the United States, Brazil, Indonesia, China and the EU. CI is developing a supply of forest carbon projects using market-based and voluntary mechanisms such as the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) and Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) to achieve immediate mitigation gains and set robust standards for investment in the forest and land use sector. Finally, CI is engaging with a wide range of public and private partners to build the pool of financing for climate action.

LEARN MORE: CI’s OSIRIS Database: A New Climate Tool 

Mitigation

An immediate way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is to halt the destruction of Earth’s remaining tropical forests and work to restore affected areas.

Today, the burning and clearing of tropical forests accounts for nearly 20 percent of man-made carbon dioxide emissions – more than all the world’s cars, trucks, ships, planes and trains combined. This deforestation, driven mostly by demand in industrialized nations for timber, palm oil, beef and other commodities, as well as the need to fulfill basic agricultural needs in developing countries, destroys an area the size of England every year. Scientists warn that failure to halt deforestation means global temperatures will rise to dangerous levels no matter what other steps are taken to combat climate change.

Healthy forests not only contribute positively to the atmosphere, but they provide important services to local populations including freshwater filtration, nutrient cycling and habitat for human food species. Therefore, preserving healthy forests and rebuilding devastated areas promotes human well-being in myriad ways.

Adaptation

Intact ecosystems help us cope with – or adapt to – the changes caused by global warming. Mangrove forests protect coastal areas from increasingly powerful storms and rising seas. Coral reefs play a key role in sustaining critical marine resources such as fish populations. Forest systems are habitat for thousands of threatened species while providing essential resources and services for people, including stable freshwater flows, pollination, disease regulation and genetic resources for crops, medicines and biotechnology.

Climate change will alter the productive capacity of these and other ecosystems, leading to shifts in food production, resource availability and human migration. Working hard to minimize the threats to natural ecosystems will make us more resilient to future changes that are already "locked" into the trajectory of the global climate system.

We must plan land use and manage marine assets in a way that predicts and buffers against change by preserving key ecosystems’ ecological services that increase adaptive capacity and ensure the resilience of natural and human communities.

IN DEPTH: Developing Climate-Smart Plans