DG Statement | 09 Dec, 2023

IUCN statement to UN Climate Change Conference 2023

IUCN Director General Dr Grethel Aguilar delivered IUCN's statement to the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (COP28), during the 9 December 2023 High Level Segment. Read the full statement below.

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IUCN DG Dr Grethel Aguilar addresses the plenary at UNFCCC COP28 in Dubai, UAE, on 9 December 2023

Photo: © IUCN

Statement by Dr Grethel Aguilar, Director General 

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

 

Mr. President,

We humans depend on nature for our own survival, but we are destroying it at an unprecedented rate.

Species, forests, the ocean and land are all suffering because of our actions.

Nature is kind, and has provided ecosystem services for millennia, and continues to be a key ally to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

We need to urgently act now to keep the 1.5 goal alive.

The Global Stocktake must result in a strong and clear decision that leads to more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions in 2025.

We have three main expectations from it.

First, the Global Stocktake must drive rapid and deep greenhouse gas emission cuts across all sectors of the global economy. This must include the time-bound phase-out of all fossil fuels within a framework that ensures a just transition.

Second, it should clearly recognise

  • the valuable role of healthy ecosystems in providing effective nature-based solutions for both adaptation and mitigation;
  • the links between the climate change and biodiversity loss crises; and
  • the need for greater operational synergies across all three Rio Conventions.

Finally, it should deliver scaled up global climate finance across the entire continuum of mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage. An increased proportion of this should be made directly accessible to Indigenous peoples and local communities.

The well-being of humanity depends on the well-being of our planet. We must do everything in our power to protect it.

I thank you Mr. President.