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Minimize the Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity and Build Resilience

Target 8

Minimize the Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity and Build Resilience

Minimize the impact of climate change and ocean acidification on biodiversity and increase its resilience through mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk reduction actions, including through nature-based solution and/or ecosystem-based approaches, while minimizing negative and fostering positive impacts of climate action on biodiversity.

Following are the guidance notes prepared by the Secretariat for Target 8

Climate change is one of the main direct drivers of biodiversity loss. In addition to climate change, rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have also resulted in ocean acidification. Various mitigation, adaptation and disaster risk reduction measures, including nature-based solutions and/or ecosystem-based approaches, have the potential to increase the resilience of ecosystems and human livelihoods to the impacts of climate change, including reducing emissions from deforestation and other land-use changes, and by enhancing carbon sinks. These approaches can also deliver numerous social, economic and environmental co-benefits.

This target focuses on (a) minimizing the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on biodiversity, (b) the contribution of biodiversity, through nature-based solutions or ecosystem based approaches, to climate mitigation and adaptation and disaster risk reduction and (c) minimizing negative and fostering positive impacts of climate action on biodiversity This target contains a number of specific elements:

  • Minimize the impact of climate change and ocean acidification on biodiversity and increase its resilience - This requires action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which may include nature-based solutions and ecosystem based approaches (see below) as well as considerations such as the siting of protected and conserved areas and species recovery programmes to take into account climate change.
  • Nature-based solutions – Refer to actions to protect, conserve, restore, sustainably use and manage natural or modified terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems, which address social, economic and environmental challenges effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being, ecosystem services and resilience and biodiversity benefits including on mitigation, adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
  • Ecosystem-based approaches – Refer to the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall strategy to help address the adverse effects of climate change. Ecosystem-based mitigation refers to the use of ecosystems for their carbon storage and sequestration service to aid climate change mitigation. Ecosystem-based adaptation aims to maintain and increase the resilience and reduce the vulnerability of ecosystems and people in the face of the adverse effects of climate change. Such approaches can include sustainable management, conservation and restoration of ecosystems, as part of an overall adaptation strategy that takes into account the multiple social, economic and cultural co-benefits for local communities. Ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction is the sustainable management, conservation and restoration of ecosystems to reduce disaster risk, with the aim of achieving sustainable and resilient development.
  • Minimizing negative and fostering positive impacts of climate action on biodiversity – While efforts and activities to address climate change could have the potential to generate significant positive impacts on biodiversity and those dependent on it, they could also unintentionally result in negative impacts if they are not appropriately designed and implemented. Taking into consideration biodiversity when designing, implementing and monitoring climate change adaptation and mitigation activities, , can deliver not only multiple benefits, but also contribute to avoiding negative impacts of the activities on biodiversity and ecosystems.
  • Actions to reach Target 8 should take into account all of the considerations for implementation identified in section C of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. 
  • Progress towards Target 8 will help to reach goals A and B of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Progress towards this target could also help to reach targets 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, and 12. Conversely, progress towards targets 1, 10, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 would facilitate progress towards this target. 
  • Target 8 addresses issues previously addressed in Aichi Biodiversity Target 10.
  • Elements of Target 8 are also addressed in the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals, including targets 13.1, 13.2 and 14.3. 
  • Target 8 is also relevant to work being undertaken under the Paris Agreement under the UNFCCC, as well as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
  • Which ecosystems in the country are vulnerable to climate change or ocean acidification? Which areas are particularly important for biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being? 
  • What measures are currently being taken to minimize the impact of climate change and ocean acidification on biodiversity? How do these account for mitigation, adaption and disaster risk reduction, including through nature-based solutions and/or ecosystem-based approaches? How do these minimize negative and promote positive impacts for biodiversity? How effective have these been? How could their effectiveness be improved?
  • Who are the actors that may be affected by actions taken to reach this target? How can they be involved and their needs addressed? What are the trade-offs to consider?
  • What additional resources (financial, human and technical) will be required to reach the national target? How can additional resources be raised? What are possible sources for these resources?

The monitoring framework for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework identifies the following indicators for this target:

Component indicators:

  • Total climate regulation services provided by ecosystems by ecosystem type (System of Environmental Economic Accounts)
  • Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 that include biodiversity
  • National greenhouse inventories from land use and land use change
  • Bioclimatic Ecosystem Resilience Index (BERI) 

Complementary indicators

  • Above-ground biomass stock in forests (tonnes/ha) 
  • National greenhouse inventories from land use and land use change
  • Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies
  • Number of least developed countries and small island developing States with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans, strategies as reported in adaptation communications and national communications
  • Index of coastal eutrophication

Carbon stocks and annual net GHG emissions, by land-use category, split by natural and non-natural land cover 

Assessments

Tools and guidance

Note from the Secretariat: This guidance material provides an overview of the target by briefly introducing key terms, highlighting some of the implications for national target setting, and providing key points and guiding questions for consideration as part of national target-setting exercises. It also identifies the adopted indicators to monitor progress and resources that could assist with national target setting and implementation. This material should be considered a work in progress, and it will be periodically updated with inputs from Parties and partner organizations in the light of experiences with its use. This information is meant to serve as a resource that Parties and others may wish to consider as they implement the Global Biodiversity Framework. It does not replace or qualify decision 15/4 or 15/5.