Natural climate solutions

2017/10/16 by Bronson W. Griscom, Justin Adams, Peter W. Ellis +29 · 15 citations
Environmental Science · #Forest Management and Policy #Land Use and Ecosystem Services #Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management

paper · pdf · doi:10.1073/pnas.1710465114

openalex publication_date 2017/10/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04

Abstract

Significance Most nations recently agreed to hold global average temperature rise to well below 2 °C. We examine how much climate mitigation nature can contribute to this goal with a comprehensive analysis of “natural climate solutions” (NCS): 20 conservation, restoration, and/or improved land management actions that increase carbon storage and/or avoid greenhouse gas emissions across global forests, wetlands, grasslands, and agricultural lands. We show that NCS can provide over one-third of the cost-effective climate mitigation needed between now and 2030 to stabilize warming to below 2 °C. Alongside aggressive fossil fuel emissions reductions, NCS offer a powerful set of options for nations to deliver on the Paris Climate Agreement while improving soil productivity, cleaning our air and water, and maintaining biodiversity.

Citations

• The value of estuarine and coastal ecosystem services
• Estimated carbon dioxide emissions from tropical deforestation improved by carbon-density maps
• Measurement and monitoring needs, capabilities and potential for addressing reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation under REDD+
• Paris Agreement climate proposals need a boost to keep warming well below 2 °C

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• Agriculture [wikipedia]