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There is a call for another “new deal” growing globally — this one a New Deal for Nature — and twelve of the largest international environmental groups are united behind it. They launched their campaign yesterday, with a powerful message — “Securing Earth’s biological diversity is a moral obligation. It is also critical in averting catastrophic climate change and ecosystem collapse.” They believe that we need to conserve 30 percent of terrestrial and inland water areas and 30 percent of oceans (dubbed “30 by 30”) through an effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative, well-connected systems of highly protected areas. Scientists argue that protected areas are much more resilient to damage from climate change or other human impacts.
The green groups that have come together are planning for the 2020 meeting of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in Beijing as a key turning point because decision-makers from more than 190 countries will gather then to agree to an ambitious new plan to safeguard nature by 2050 — and find broad agreement around a document called the New Deal for Nature.
“If we are to achieve global goals for sustainable development, we need to keep half the planet in its natural state. At the National Geographic Society, we believe protecting 30 percent of the planet by 2030 is a vital milestone on the path toward a planet in balance.”
The groups involved are some of the largest in the entire movement including National Geographic, Conservation International, and the World Wildlife Fund. Their bold “30 by 30” target is intended to make a giant leap forward to prevent another major extinction event, that some have predicted is imminent.
Why This Matters: This is a moment in time in which we can take action to make the future much better than it would be otherwise. But it won’t happen unless we recognize this moment and seize it to change the trajectory we are on. It is true for climate change, and for conserving the natural world in general. Moreover, we need a clear and measurable goal to aim for if we want to effect change. Even without the negative impacts of climate change, the loss of habitat and overexploitation of natural resources that we as humans are causing would be devastating unless we alter our behavior. Sir David Attenborough said it best in the interview he gave at Davos a week ago, “The natural world is the source of all wonder and the future of the natural world is in our hands. We can wreck it with ease…and if we wreck the natural world, we wreck ourselves.”
Why this Matters: Many of former President Trump’s energy and water policies were not only bad for the environment but also cost-inefficient and burdensome for American consumers, so reversing or amending these rules could benefit customers as well as decrease emissions and water use.
Clean water is a human right, and some cities are ensuring it by giving their waters legal personhood.Legal rights for nature are a growing movement in environmental law, putting the natural world on more equal footing in court.
Why this Matters: The natural world is essential for us humans to survive. From oil spills to toxic PFAS chemicals to leaking landfills, there are plenty of threats from human activity. Protecting the environment is beneficial to our own health in the short term
ities will spend $8.2 billion dollars on “smart street lights” in the next decade according to a new report. These lights are much more efficient than the lights currently in use across and have a variety of functions, including traffic data collection to save time and weather monitoring to improve forecasts.
Why This Matters: “Street lighting can be up to 40% of a city’s energy bills, so you see huge cost savings across the board,” Benjamin Gardner, president of the Northeast Group, a smart cities marketing firm, told Axios.
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