The CBD must step up to break the destructive climate–biodiversity cycle

Climate breakdown and biodiversity loss are two sides of the same crisis. As the climate heats, ecosystems collapse faster. This happens due to shifting rainfall patterns, more frequent extreme events disrupting ecosystems, degrading habitats, and exceeding species’ ability to adapt or migrate. Also the spread of devastating forest fires destroys biodiversity while accelerating global heating. As biodiversity is destroyed, the planet’s capacity to regulate the climate weakens. ...

Precautionary risk assessment needed to confront new LMO threats

Eva Sirinathsinghji, Third World Network - Emerging applications of living modified organisms (LMOs) present potentially irreversible risks and challenge current risk assessment frameworks. While first-generation living modified (LM) crops—primarily herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant varieties—have long been criticized for their impacts on biodiversity, health, and traditional agriculture, newer biotech proposals introduce even more complex biosafety concerns. ...

Nature-based Solutions: Why are states not focusing efforts on systemic transformations to address the drivers of biodiversity loss?

Meenal Tatpati (Women4Biodiversity) & Valentina Figuera Martínez (Global Forest Coalition) - Over the past decade, the concept of ‘Nature-based Solutions’ (NbS) has been promoted within global environmental governance, with several big conservation NGOs and corporations (such as BP, Chevron, Shell, Bayer, and Microsoft) being strong proponents. Initially developed by IUCN, the term has since spread across climate and biodiversity fora, despite evidence showing that NbS can harm ecosystem functions, violate human rights, and justify greenwashing and offsetting schemes. Additionally, many NbS projects do not consider the risk of impermanence, as climate change and other anthropogenic factors can affect ecosystem health. 
But why keep promoting NbS as a solution in international policy processes? Why are states not rather focusing efforts on addressing the direct drivers of biodiversity destruction? ...

Precaution on Geoengineering: Essential for the synergy of Rio Conventions 

Silvia Ribeiro, HOME Alliance - In a series of pioneering precautionary decisions, the CBD agreed by consensus to prevent the impacts of climate geoengineering on biodiversity and livelihoods. The first decision on ocean fertilization was adopted in 2008 followed by another one on all forms of geoengineering in 2010. Both were reaffirmed by several COP decisions, latest in 2024.
The CBD decisions on geoengineering need to be explicitly taken into account in any joint work program of the Rio Conventions to enhance the positive synergy of the Rio Conventions and ensure that actions on climate change, desertification and land degradation go hand in hand with protecting biodiversity, livelihoods, rights and precaution. ...

Transform, not Reform!

Third World Network - Why have efforts to halt the destruction of biodiversity largely failed? 
A major reason is the failure to confront the root causes of the biodiversity crisis, resulting in outcomes that are incremental, insufficient, or ineffective. As such, the emphasis has been on reforming rather than transforming dominant systems.