How can forests, wetlands, and farms provide solutions to meet our climate goals? How do we create and implement policies to support the ecosystems that we depend on to sequester carbon, protect coastal cities from floods and heat waves, and provide us with clean air and water? Answering these questions is at the center of the Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the California-China Climate Institute’s (CCCI) ongoing work to advance nature-based climate solutions (NbS) in California and China.
As part of this effort, we have jointly hosted a series of webinars to bring together American and Chinese scientists, policymakers, and practitioners to share NbS research, expertise and opportunities for collaborative action. Over the course of the webinars, a few key lessons have emerged:
Nature as an integrated climate solution: NbS are an effective, albeit underexplored, climate strategy. Our natural and working lands and our waters can directly reduce and avoid emissions, sequester carbon, and increase the resilience of our landscapes and communities to ongoing climate risks. Beyond that, NbS are practical and cost-effective strategies to address our linked biodiversity and climate challenges, while growing jobs and improving air and water quality.
Best practices: China and California are pioneering NbS policies and strategies. California, for example, has committed to set aside 30% of its land and coastal waters for conservation, leading the Biden Administration to adopt the same policy across the country. California is also developing a climate-smart, land-use strategy to better manage and conserve land for climate benefits, like carbon sequestration.
In China, a number of NbS activities, such as wetland conservation, reforestation and ecological agriculture, have been implemented over the last twenty years. China has also established a NbS policy – referred to as the “ecological conservation red line” – to conserve 25% of its land area to protect endanger species, address water conservation and flood risks, and sequester carbon. At the local level, cities such as Beijing have included ambitious conservation and climate actions in its 2016 - 2035 Master Plan.
Importance of collaboration: Participants in these webinars expressed a strong interest in collaboration, joint research and policy learning between China and California. Areas of collaboration could include research and demonstrations on reducing fire severity and market-based mechanisms to reduce emissions and sequester carbon. Collaboration is critical to effectively address this global challenge.
The next TNC/CCCI joint webinar features leadership from both organizations, along with two experts, Ashley Conrad-Saydah, CCCI Research Affiliate and Dong Ke, Director of China Global Engagement for The Nature Conservancy, who provide insights on NbS in China and California. Watch the video and others in the NbS webinar series here.