Lisa Walker making the case for forests at the World Economic Forum
Lisa Walker, CEO of RBI Member Ecosphere+, attended the World Economic Forum in January. The outcomes of the WEF Annual Global Risk Report show that risks of catastrophic weather and flooding from climate change are at the top of the list of concerns for business leaders. While there is general agreement that the maximum average temperature rise should be well under 2oC, the current global government commitments, if implemented, put the world on track for 3oC temperature rise – a huge gap. Natural climate solutions have a critical role to play in closing the gap. They can equate to 37% of the emissions reductions needed to achieve our climate goals and up to 50% of the pre-2020 mitigation required. The lowest-cost option is to prevent the conversion or destruction of our natural tropical forests in the first place. One third of this natural mitigation can be delivered at or below $10 per tonne of CO2e with many positive benefits for communities and ecosystems.
In conjunction with this global meeting, Ecosphere+ published ‘The Case for Forests’ booklet, which establishes the huge range of critical services that forests provide for the climate and nature, society, and economy.
