Making Peace with Nature A scientific blueprint to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergenciesUNEP promotes environmentally sound practices globally and in its own activities. Our distribution policy aims to reduce UNEPs carbon footprint 2021 United Nations Environment Programme ISBN: 978-92-807-3837-7 Job No: DEW/2335/NA This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit services without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. United Nations Environment Programme would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from the United Nations Environment Programme. 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Its contents are the sole responsibility of the United Nations Environment Programme and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union. Maps, photos and illustrations as specified Cover design: Joseph Schmidt-Klingenberg and Sebastian Obermeyer Graphic Design: Joseph affiliation(s) Report Leads: Ivar A. Baste (GEO, IPBES; Norwegian Environment Agency, Norway) and Robert T. Watson (IPCC, IPBES; UEA, UK) Section Leads: Kate A. Brauman (IPBES; University of Minnesota, USA), Kai M. A. Chan (IPBES; University of British Columbia, Canada), Nebojsa Nakicenovic (The World in 2050, IPCC; International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria), Paul L. Lucas (GEO, GBO; PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, the Netherlands), Stephen Polasky (IPBES; University of Minnesota, USA) and Robert J. Scholes (IPBES, IPCC; University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa) Authors: Ricardo Barra (GEO, GCO; University of Concepcin, Chile), Eduardo S. Brondizio (IPBES, GEO-6; Nepam-Unicamp, Brazil, Indiana University, USA), Shob - hakar Dhakal (IPCC, GEO-6; Asian Institute of Technology, Nepal), Rebecca M. Garland (IPCC; Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa), Yacob Mulugetta (IPCC; University College London, UK), Paul A. Newman (Montreal Protocols Scientific Assessment Panel; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA), Belinda Reyers (IPBES; Stockholm Resilience Centre, Sweden), Cristin Samper (Wildlife Conservation Society, USA), Sonia I. Seneviratne (IPCC; ETH Zrich, Switzerland), Detlef van Vuuren (IPBES, IPCC, GEO-6; PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, the Netherlands), Chris Walzer (Wildlife Conservation Society, USA), Rachel Warren (IPCC; University of East Anglia, UK), Bianca Wernecke (South African Medical Research Council, South Africa) and Caradee Y. Wright (IPCC, GEO-6; South African Medical Research Council, South Africa) Scientific Advisory Group: Hesiquio Benitez-Diaz (CONABIO, Mexico), Julia Carabias (National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico), John M. Christen - sen (IPCC; UNEP-DTU, Denmark), H. David Cooper (GBO; CBD, UK), Paul Ekins (IPCC, GEO-6; University College London, UK), David W. Fahey (IPCC; NOAA, USA), Joyeeta Gupta (IPCC, GEO-6; University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands), Madhav Karki (IPBES; Centre for Green Economy Development, Nepal), Nicholas King (IPBES, IPCC, GEO-6; North West University, South Africa), Thomas Lovejoy (Amazon Biodiversity Center, USA), Jock Martin (European Environment Agency, Denmark), Valrie Masson-Delmotte (IPCC; French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, France), Peter Messerli (GSDR; University of Bern, Switzerland) Shantanu Mukherjee (UNDESA, India), Endah Murniningtyas (GSDR; Indonesia Agriculture Economist Association, Indonesia), Bruno Oberle (Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape, Switzerland), Janez Potonik (GRO; SYSTEMIQ, Slovenia), Debra Roberts (IPCC; eThekwini Municipality, Durban, South Africa), Johan Rockstrm (GEO-6; Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany), Cyrie Sendashonga (IUCN, Canada), Sonali Sena - ratna Sellamuttu (IPBES; International Water Management Institute, Sri Lanka), Jim Skea (IPCC; Imperial College London, UK) and Youba Sokona (IPCC; African Climate Policy Centre, Mali) Research Fellows: Maria Jesus Iraola (GEO-6; Asesoramiento Ambiental Estratgico, Uruguay), Akshay Jain (GEO-6; Mesotope Pte Ltd, India), Tooba Masood (GEO-6; Asian Institute of Technology, Pakistan), Jaee Nikam (GEO-6; Stockholm Environment Institute, India), Amit Patel (GEO-6; Cadmus Group LLC, USA), Priti Patel (GEO-6; NU Borders LLC, USA), Semie Sama (GEO-6; McGill University, Canada), Samanta Villegas Espinosa (GEO-6; Fundacin de Conservacin Jocotoco, Ecuador), Leila Zamani (GEO-6; Department of Environment of Islamic Republic of Iran, Iran) and Emily Zhang (The George Washington University, USA) Reviewers: Sandy Sheard (The Dasgupta Review), Valentin Foltescu and Pushpam Kumar (UNEP Economy Division), Linxiu Zhang, Tim Christopherson, Michele Poletto, Riccardo Zennaro and Doreen Robinson (UNEP Ecosystems Division), Arnold Kreilhuber (UNEP Law Division), Susan Mutebi-Richards and Marieta Saka - lian (UNEP Policy and Programme Division), Sandra Averous-Monnery (UNEP Chemicals and Health Branch), Daniel Cooney (UNEP Communications Division), Jian Liu and Ludgarde Coppens (UNEP Science Division), Jinhua Zhang (UNEP Asia-Pacific Office), Tomas Marques (UNEP Europe Office), Simi Thambi and Divya Datt (UNEP India Office), Jason Jabbour, Jane Eisenhardt and Logan Ende (UNEP North America Office), Neville Ash and Hilary Allison (UNEP-WCMC), Katarina Magulova (Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions), Alexander Shestakov, Jillian Campbell, Kieran Noonan-Mooney, Christopher Pereira, Julie Botzas-Coluni, Caridad Canales and Joseph Appiott (Convention on Biological Diversity), Tom De Meulenaer (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), Christina Bodouroglou (International Resource Panel), Eisaku Toda (Minamata Convention on Mercury), Tina Birmpili, Meg Seki and Sophia Mylona (Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer) Report Production Team UNEP Secretariat C o r e t e a m : Rachel Kosse, Brigitte Ohanga, Adele Roccato and Edoardo Zandri Extended team: Pierre Boileau, Caroline Kaimuru, Maarten Kappelle, Jian Liu, Caroline Mureithi, Josephine Mule, Franklin Odhiambo, Pinya Sarasas and Sharif Shawky Communications Team: David Cole, Daniel Cooney, Florian Fustetter, Maria Vittoria Galassi, Stephen Graham, Nancy Groves, Duncan Moore, Pooja Munshi, Stephanie Pascale Foote, Keishamaza Rukikaire, Reagan Sirengo and Neha Sud Design and layout: Sebastian Obermeyer and Joseph Schmidt-Klingenberg Science Communications Editor: Stephen Graham Maps: Magda Biesiada, Jane Muriithi and Emily Zhang 3UN Secretary-Generals Foreword Humanity is waging war on nature. This is senseless and suicidal. The consequences of our recklessness are already apparent in human suffering, towering economic losses and the accelerating erosion of life on Earth. Ending our war does not mean surrendering hard-won develop- ment gains. Nor does it cancel the rightful aspiration of poorer nations and people to enjoy better living standards. On the contrary, making peace with nature, securing its health and building on the critical and undervalued benefits that it provi- des are key to a prosperous and sustainable future for all. The urgent need to transform our relationship with nature risks being overlooked amid the huge suffering inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Saving precious lives and livelihoods is our top priority. But by exposing humanitys vulnerability, the pandemic can also help make 2021 a turning point towards a more sustainable and inclusive world. This report provides the bedrock for hope. By bringing together the latest scientific evidence showing the impacts and threats of the climate emergency, the biodiversity crisis and the pollu- tion that kills millions of people every year, it makes clear that our war on nature has left the planet broken. But it also guides us to a safer place by providing a peace plan and a post-war rebuilding programme. By transforming how we view nature, we can recognize its true value. By reflecting this value in policies, plans and economic systems, we can channel invest- ments into activities that restore nature and are rewarded for it. By recognizing nature as an indispensable ally, we can unleash human ingenuity in the service of sustainability and secure our own health and well-being alongside that of the planet. Making peace with nature is the defining task of the coming decades. We must seize the opportunity presented by the COVID-19 crisis to accelerate change. This year, several major international conferences, including on climate change, bio- diversity and desertification, provide an opportunity to increa- se ambition and action on recovering better and addressing climate disruption. Our central objective is to build a global coalition for carbon neutrality. If adopted by every country, city, financial institution and company around the world, the drive to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 can still avert the worst impacts of climate change. Similar urgency and ambition are needed to transform other systems, including how we produce our food and manage our water, land and oceans. Developing countries need more assistance to redress environmental decline. Only then can we get back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This report shows that we have the ability to transform our impact on the world. A sustainable economy driven by rene- wable energy and nature-based solutions will create new jobs, cleaner infrastructure and a resilient future. An inclusive world at peace with nature can ensure that people enjoy better health and the full respect of their human rights so they can live with dignity on a healthy planet. Antnio Guterres Secretary-General of the United Nations, February 2021 4UNEP Executive Directors Foreword Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was emerging as a moment of truth for our commitment to steer Earth and its people toward sustainability. Momentum was building and global meetings were set to discuss bold action on the three interconnected planetary crises facing humanity, namely the climate crisis, the nature crisis and the pollution crisis. These crises, driven by decades of relentless and unsustainable consumption and production, are amplifying deep inequali- ties and threatening our collective future. This report makes the strongest scientific case yet for why and how that collective determination must be urgently applied to protecting and restoring our planet. Drawing on a unique and comprehensive synthesis of global environmen- tal assessments, it details the self-defeating and dangerous consequences of our overconsumption of resources and overproduction of waste. The science is clear that we are putting extreme pressures on the planet. According to the 2020 UNEP Emissions Gap Report, while the pandemic resulted in a temporary decline in greenhouse gas emissions, we are heading for at least a 3C temperature rise this century. Our colleagues at the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) have sounded the alarm on the rapid decline of nature and what this means for Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Loss of biodiversity and ecosystem integrity, together with climate change and pollution will undermine our efforts on 80 per cent of assessed SDG Targets, making it even more difficult to report progress on poverty reduction, hunger, health, water, cities and climate. We need to look no further than the global pandemic caused by COVID-19, a zoonotic disease, i.e. transmitted from animal to human, to know that the finely-tuned system of the natural world has been disrupted. And finally, the “toxic trail” of economic growth pollution and waste which results every year in the prema - ture deaths of millions of people across the world. While the response to the medical emergency of COVID-19 rightly preoccupies government budgets and political action, the response to this pandemic must ultimately accelerate the economic and social transformations needed to address the planetary emergency. As the UN Secretary-General no - ted in his State of Planet speech, “COVID recovery and our planets repair must be two sides of the same coin.” The report outlines what the “repair” of our planet entails, the transformative actions that can unleash human ingenuity and cooperation to secure livelihoods and well-being for all. Repair means solutions that recognize how our environmental, social and development challenges are interconnected. Repair means shifting our values and worldviews as well as our financial and economic systems. Repair means taking a whole-of-society approach. And repair means being fair and just. With science as our guiding light, UNEPs Medium-Term Strategy (2022-2025) seeks to ensure the link between sci - ence, policy and decision-making remains stronger than ever, sustained by strong environmental governance and supported by economic policies that can be the foundation of a catalytic response to the