CI is tackling climate change by conserving nature.

Most of the world’s efforts to address the climate crisis focus on energy solutions, such as developing renewable sources and improving efficiency in our light bulbs, appliances, and cars. These steps are essential, but it will take decades to drastically reduce the fossil fuel dependence of industrial and emerging societies. Conserving nature is something we can do now.

We need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible right away while helping species and people adapt to a changing planet. CI knows well that protecting the world’s tropical forests is one of the most immediate and cost-effective ways to do so.

The burning and clearing of tropical forests accounts for at least 20 percent of global carbon emissions – more than all the world’s cars, trucks, ships, and airplanes combined. In addition to energy solutions, then, our global and united response to climate change must include the halting or slowing of forest destruction.

Since our founding 21 years ago, CI has worked with partners around the world to conserve the tropical forests, seascapes, and other crucial biological diversity essential to life on our planet. To date, we have conserved more than 143 million terrestrial acres and 80 million acres of marine area. That experience will help us catalyze a global response to climate change.

CI is also bringing its experience to the urgent issue of climate adaptation. The world is already experiencing impacts of global warming in the oceans and on land. Coral reefs are dying, ice caps and mountain glaciers are melting, and drought, storms, floods, and fires have all increased. Our efforts to minimize climate change must include helping species and human communities cope with its impacts.

Over the next three years CI will:

• Conduct research to identify the ecosystems most at risk from climate change and develop a strong response to help vulnerable people and species.
  
• Test our research and demonstrate effective strategies on the ground in the more than 40 countries in which we work. CI’s conservation programs will help countries take a leadership role in harnessing their country’s natural resources to tackle climate change.
  
• Influence international and national policies to place biodiversity protection and restoration at the center of global strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change. We will assist indigenous peoples and local communities in making their voices heard, and in influencing policy decisions.
  
• Shape market-based solutions that will protect forests and reduce emissions. This effort includes creatively investing public and private funding, and influencing the standards for markets trading the financial benefits that intact forest can provide.

Results: By protecting forests in the biodiversity hotspots and high-biodiversity wilderness areas in which we work, CI and our partners can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1 to 2 billion tons per year. This represents 3 to 5 percent of the entire global reduction in emissions needed by 2030.