By Chris Lang “Scientists, corporations, mystics, and movie stars have convinced policymakers around the world that a massive campaign to plant trees should be an essential element of global climate policy. Public dialogue has emphasized potential benefits of tree planting while downplaying pitfalls and limitations that are well established by social and ecological research.”
Tag: Natural Climate Solutions
Banking on Nature: HSBC partners with Pollination for US$6 billion “natural capital” investment
By Chris Lang HSBC Global Asset Management and Pollination Group have announced a series of planned billion-dollar funds targetting “natural capital”. The new venture will be called HSBC Pollination Climate Asset Management and aims to raise US$6 billion from institutional investors. But handing over conservation to bankers and neoliberal economists will be a disaster for…
Do the four principles on Nature-Based Solutions mean “No offsets”?
By Chris Lang In May 2020, 60 organisations and experts signed on to a statement calling for Four Principles for Nature-Based Solutions. The first signatory is Christiana Figueres, Co-founder, Global Optimisim and the second is Thomas Crowther, Crowther Lab, ETH Zurich. Among the other signatories are representatives from The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, WRI, IUCN,…
Pakistan’s tree planting programmes: Corruption, exclusion and marginalisation
By Chris Lang At the end of April 2020, Thomson Reuters Foundation reported that Pakistan was employing people who had lost their jobs because of the coronavirus to plant trees. The article quoted Malik Amin Aslam Khan, climate change advisor to the prime minister, as saying that, “This tragic crisis provided an opportunity and we…
Our Nature is Not Your Solution!
By Chris Lang 22 May is the International Day for Biological Diversity. The UN General Assembly launched World Biodiversity Day in 1993. This year’s theme, chosen by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is “Our solutions are in nature”. The CBD tells us that the theme, “emphasises hope, solidarity and the importance of working together…