On Saturday 6 November, COP26 delegates discussed the importance of protecting nature and highlighted strategies for nature-focused solutions to the climate crisis.

The need to shift to development and business models that promote forest protection and regeneration and sustainable agriculture is now more urgent than ever.

Leaders from government, business, civil society and Indigenous communities came together to highlight plans and commitments that are already underway and what more needs to be done. They showcased collaborative international efforts already undertaken, such as the FACT Dialogue which has brought major countries in agricultural trade together to promote sustainability, and the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature which encourages a variety of government and social groups to make ambitious pledges to protect the environment.

Indigenous communities are one of the critical stakeholders in these discussions. Scientists have pointed out the links between Indigenous rights and the preservation of nature, as it is often Indigenous movements that are on the front line of efforts to prevent deforestation and protect biodiversity in places like the Amazon rainforest.

COP26 is being called the “last best chance” to prevent catastrophic runaway climate change. If that chance is not to be lost, world leaders need to do more than simply commit to ambitious environmental protection plans; they need to actually carry them out, something that has been lacking in relation to previous climate commitments. 

With climate science telling us that tomorrow will be too late to do what we should have done a long time ago, the whole world will be watching closely, not only during COP26 negotiations but after.

Author - Sukayna Ashikali