IUCN Director General's statement at the UN Summit of the Future

Excellencies,

The world is changing. There is an urgent need to respond to the global crises of biodiversity loss and climate change that are driving us into poverty and insecurity.

Science has shown us that we are rapidly exceeding the planetary boundaries that provide adequate living conditions for the human species. Increasing resource consumption, persistent inequality and accelerating climate change are putting the planet under unprecedented pressure. Humans have already extinguished the lives of many species and brought a quarter of the remaining species to the brink of extinction.

If we are to secure the future of our planet, we need to bring about transformative change for nature and people. After all, this emergency is about the survival of the human species and our home, Planet Earth.

A glimmer of hope comes from recent successes in multilateral agreements on nature and climate action. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the High Seas Treaty are significant achievements that demonstrate that the international community and the multilateral system work and can deliver the radical change we need. What is essential now is the implementation of these and other key agreements.

We need to put nature at the centre of global social and economic systems, and to change the relationship between people and nature so that nature provides solutions for people and people can enjoy the benefits that nature gives us, equitably and effectively.

We need to transition to a global circular economy that takes into account the true cost of ecosystem services required for the production of goods and services. We must implement policies aimed at achieving a fossil fuel-free, nature-positive future.

This must be underpinned by inclusive and participatory decision-making processes that meaningfully include youth, Indigenous peoples and local communities and are gender-sensitive, and are backed by scientific data and tools.

IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, welcomes the Pact for the Future as a renewed commitment to multilateralism by State members, although we regret the fact that the Pact has not fully achieved the transformative change needed for nature and climate.

IUCN is committed to supporting the implementation of the Pact and beyond, and will continue its work to achieve a just world that values and conserves nature. Such a world is the future we must all work for.

Thank you.