For professionals of many sectors, fall is the season for a marathon of conferences, panels, webinars and events. For the climate sector, this is no exception and Climate Week NYC kicked it off with a bigger-than-ever crowd, next it was VERGE in San Jose, culminating to COP28.
The development of many conversations and discussions in this space, more than usual, left me feeling hopeful. Hopeful because it felt that an overwhelming number of climate conversations explored specific topics deeply, were centered on action today, and strove to rise above, or even slice through, the depths of jargon that often make it difficult to get to the “so what really are we going to do about it?” part of important conversations. These critical sentiments, conversations and questions explored included the following.
There is no “Net Zero” without nature.
For a while now, climate action is often used simultaneously with carbon reduction. To reduce carbon, we look to engineering new, more sustainable, efficient technologies. However, in a comprehensive carbon strategy, there are solutions to reduce carbon emissions, remove carbon from the atmosphere, and protect or preserve natural carbon sinks. In recent years and conferences, airtime and large-scale efforts by large stakeholders were often paying most attention to the reduction of emissions as well as engineered carbon removal. It was prevalent in this year’s events that a multitude of actors and capital providers showed up energized, informed, and ready to ensure nature-based solutions alongside the preservation and restoration of nature not only were present in strategic discussions, but center stage in them.