WCS at the UN Climate Change Conference

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

November 30–December 12

WATCH: The WCS team addresses the importance of COP28; why nature matters in addressing the climate crisis; how COP28 can be just and effective; and what success will look like coming out of Dubai.

“We must work harder to transition away from fossil fuels and to scale clean energy solutions. But we must also recognize we are failing to take advantage of nature as a solution. We know nature has an immense capacity to store carbon and help us adapt to climate impacts we cannot avoid.”
—WCS President and CEO Monica Medina, who will lead the WCS delegation in Dubai

WORLD LEADERS are gathering in Dubai to assess global progress in addressing the climate crisis and to propose solutions to help the world meet the collective long-term goals set forth in the Paris Agreement. A WCS delegation to COP28 will be on the ground leading the call for a rapid and just transition away from fossil fuels; a larger investment in nature to address the climate and biodiversity crises; and the recognition of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in all COP28 decisions and outcomes.

What the World Must Do

  • The climate crisis requires much more rapid transition away from fossil fuels—unless that happens, we'll continue to have worsening impacts on people and nature.
  • Nature, particularly forests and peatlands, is already helping us, keeping the Earth from warming considerably more, so we need to protect it. These landscapes are nature's infrastructure for climate regulation.
  • Protecting nature is critical not only for climate, but also for the biodiversity that our food and health systems depend on.
  • Indigenous Peoples and local communities are amongst the best guardians of nature, and their rights needs to be recognized and respected in COP28 decisions, including through the full recognition and implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and other international human rights instruments.

Schedule

WCS Events at COP28

Photo Credit: ©Kate Trysh/Unsplash

Friday, December 1

Nature Zone Opening Reception

Nature Positive Pavilion | 17:00

Sunday, December 3

Learnings from the Wayfinder Circle and WCS to co-create and design a better future for our planet

Nature Positive Pavilion | 15:30-16:30 | Watch Online

WCS & COMIFAC Joint Event: High Ambition Fund for Nature, Climate and People: a 30x30 Implementation Program

*Invitation Only | COMIFAC Pavilion | 17:00-19:00

Monday, December 4

Miombo Woodlands Launch Event hosted by Government of Mozambique in partnership with ICCF & WCS

*Invitation Only | Mozambique Pavilion | 10:00-11:00

Reception with CEO Monica Medina and Brazilian Leaders

*Invitation Only | Nature Positive Pavilion | 17:00-19:00 | Watch Online

Wednesday, December 6

How carbon finance can support NDCs and ambitious climate action on nature

Nature Positive Pavilion | 11:00-12:00 | Watch Online

Friday, December 8

Finance for high integrity forests

Nature Positive Pavilion | 13:00-14:00 | Click to Register

Reception to launch Jurisdictional REDD+ Technical Assistance Partnership

Nature Positive Pavilion | 18:00-20:00 | Watch Online

Saturday, December 9

Football4Forests Side Event

Colombia Pavilion | 10:00–11:00

Let’s Talk About Money: The Why and How of Marine Nature-Based Solutions Financing

WWF Pavilion (Panda Hub) | 17:00–18:00 | Watch Online

Sunday, December 10

Unpacking the biodiversity-climate nexus: Opportunities and challenges

Blue Zone | SE Room 2 | 13:15-14:45

Video Recording: WCS Pre-COP28 Press Briefing

WCS Forests and Climate Change

We work on innovative solutions to help ensure that Earth’s remaining forests and peatlands can deliver climate change mitigation and adaptation benefits at the scale we need.

WCS in the Media

We Reap What We Subsidize on Climate

Photo Credit: ©Zbynek Burival/Unsplash

Last year, direct public subsidies that promote fossil fuel production and consumption jumped to $1.4 trillion in the G-20 countries alone. That’s a four-fold increase from the average over the past decade. Is it any wonder, ask WCS's Monica Medina and Daniel Zarin in the Daily News, that the oil majors are backing away from their prior commitments to accelerate the phase-out of fossil fuels in response to the climate crises?

Nature is the best carbon sink

“We can’t achieve climate mitigation or climate solutions without factoring in nature, as nature is the best carbon sink technology ever created,” WCS's Monica Medina said on The Perri Peltz Show.

Act Now

Restoring Degraded Forests

A WCS study shows that prioritizing the restoration of degraded forest, not just cleared lands, could help meet climate and biodiversity goals more rapidly, writes Mongabay.

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Take Action

Framing Our Future

The destruction of nature is contributing to global temperature rise and biodiversity loss. The U.S. Foundation for International Conservation Act can help by ensuring the long-term success of conservation programs around the planet. If you're in the U.S., help move it forward by urging your senators to support it right away.

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