NDC Partnership Deepens Climate-Biodiversity Linkages at CBD COP16
The U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP16 in Cali, Colombia, marked the first CBD COP since countries signed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) in late 2022, a landmark agreement that aims to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. As countries submit their next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) in this critical “triple COP year” of biodiversity, climate and desertification negotiations, COP16 was a prime moment to deepen climate-biodiversity linkages.
Aligning climate and biodiversity targets is critical to achieving the interconnected and complementary goals of the Paris Agreement and the GBF. Just as climate change disrupts habitats and ecosystems, biodiversity loss accelerates climate change and worsens its impacts. The route to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C and adapting to climate impacts, therefore, requires urgently protecting and restoring nature — and vice versa.
The NDC Partnership actively supports countries in strengthening their NDCs with measurable, biodiversity-focused actions aligned with the GBF goals for 2030. A key component of this work is strategic collaboration with key actors working at the nexus of climate and nature.
At CBD COP16, the NDC Partnership strengthened its commitment to aligning climate and biodiversity efforts, engaging in over a dozen events focused on the climate-biodiversity nexus. The Partnership participated in NBSAP Day to promote alignment between NDCs and NBSAPs and joined discussions, in collaboration with Nature4Climate, on bridging climate and biodiversity goals by COP30.
While in Cali, the Partnership co-organized several events as part of the Mangrove Breakthrough NDC Taskforce, aiming to raise awareness about the role of blue carbon in NDCs. The Partnership also contributed to an expert workshop and a high-level ministerial panel focused on the intersection of climate, biodiversity and food security.
How the Partnership Supports Climate-Biodiversity Action
The NDC Partnership recognizes the interconnected crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, and the need to align solutions to address this “vicious cycle.” Engaging with global partners at COP16, notably with the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership — a country-led initiative supporting NBSAP development — the Support Unit underscored the role of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in curbing biodiversity loss and mitigating climate impacts to build a climate-positive, nature-resilient future.
Through collaboration with the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, the Partnership is helping countries incorporate NbS in their NDCs 3.0 through strong, measurable targets and actions. NbS have emerged as critical for achieving sustainable development pathways, and NDC Partnership Member Countries are increasingly integrating these solutions across ecosystems, including forests, agricultural lands and coastal zones.
“The Partnership is more committed than ever to supporting countries to realize their climate ambitions through the use and effective deployment of NbS. By incorporating NbS measures in both adaptation actions and mitigation targets, it is a win-win dynamic that will enhance countries’ NDCs as well as benefit the economies and well-being of local communities around the world,” said NDC Partnership Global Director Pablo Vieira.
The NDC Partnership and NBSAP Accelerator Partnership are also co-organizers of the Climate-Nature Coordination Platform (CNCP), an operationalization of the COP28 Joint Statement on Climate, Nature and People.
The NDC Partnership supports countries in establishing specific climate targets based on scientific and local knowledge, with measurable outcomes that address national climate vulnerabilities. To date, the Partnership has received biodiversity-related requests from 73 countries. This indicates widespread acknowledgment of the need to integrate NDCs, NBSAPs and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), helping to ensure greater alignment with the GBF and the goals of the Paris Agreement. There is also a growing interest in strengthening biodiversity and nature financing, specifically for the implementation of cross-cutting activities contained in NDCs.
Next Steps for Climate-Biodiversity Linkages
Engaging at COP16 lays the groundwork for deeper climate-biodiversity alignment and country engagement moving forward, bringing forward the Partnership’s endorsement of the COP28 “Joint Statement on Climate, Nature and People” that affirms a unified, “COP-to-COP” agenda to support countries in planning and implementing complementary climate and biodiversity actions.
As countries develop and update their NDCs and NBSAPs, they have an opportunity to integrate these processes and ensure they are mutually reinforcing.
The NDC Partnership’s flexible, country-driven model is vital in addressing the inevitable challenges that surface in this process by allowing countries to submit both complex, multi-year support requests and more targeted, shorter-term needs. This dynamic approach meets countries where they are and ensures that each intervention respects national priorities and promotes locally relevant solutions.
Countries can request support from the Partnership to integrate NbS and ecosystem services in their NDCs, addressing climate change and biodiversity loss through coordinated, science-based actions that increase climate resilience and deliver on the goals of the GBF and the Paris Agreement.