Climate change is a serious concern for the Amazon. Rises in temperature and droughts put the forest at risk of drying and increased fires, threatening its resilience, wildlife, and the communities who depend on its services. Ultimately one of the best solutions to halt climate change is keeping trees standing which is at the core of all we do. We work with civil society groups, business and local and national governments in the Amazon to increase commitments towards conservation and reversing climate change and turn them into actions. For example:
- We are undertaking advocacy to ensure Brazil and Colombia reduce their greenhouse gas emissions following the Paris agreement.
- Securing and expanding protected areas in Colombia and Brazil– there’s political pressure to downgrade the status of some of Brazil’s protected areas and indigenous territories. We are resisting it, while influencing the governance and expansion of Colombia’s protected areas.
- As part of a broader strategy to generate 100% of Brazil’s electricity from renewable resources, we are supporting the use of solar panels so that even remote areas of the Amazon can move away from diesel dependency.
- We are working to help Brazil meet its pledge to restore a massive 12 million hectares of forest by 2030 – that’s an area almost the size of England.
- REDD+ – we’re helping Colombia and Brazil deliver their REDD+ strategies, at national and state level.
- Working from policy to implementation – we are promoting low carbon and climate resilient planning across 10 municipalities in Colombia and promoting sound environmental and social practices for the construction of new highways which historically have driven deforestation deeper into the Amazon.
- We are supporting civil society organisations and communities to have their voices heard in defence of their Amazon livelihoods.
- We are providing sound scientific evidence for our policy positions, supplying expert responses to legislative and judicial issues affecting the Amazon, and stimulating debate and understanding through the media.
- Finally, we are working globally to galvanise public opinion for a Global Deal for Nature and People to reverse the trend of biodiversity loss by 2030 and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius.