Nature-Based Solutions
How protecting and restoring forests, wetlands, and other ecosystems can address climate change while delivering biodiversity and livelihood benefits.
Working With Nature
Nature-based solutions (NBS) use the protection, restoration, and sustainable management of ecosystems to address climate change. Forests absorb roughly 7.6 billion metric tons of CO2 per year, about 1.5 times more than the United States emits annually. Peatlands store twice as much carbon as all the world's forests combined. Mangroves sequester carbon at rates up to four times higher than terrestrial forests while also protecting coastlines from storm surges. Restoring and protecting these ecosystems is among the most cost-effective climate strategies available.
NBS gained significant attention with the inclusion of nature in the Paris Agreement and the growing recognition that climate change and biodiversity loss are interconnected crises that must be addressed together. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022, committed countries to protecting 30 percent of the planet's land and ocean by 2030, creating synergies between climate and biodiversity goals.