Abstract

The concept of nature-based solutions refers to approaches to societal problems that benefit both people and nature. It is widely advocated in addressing climate change, both in terms of creating and restoring natural ecosystems to take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and in reducing the impacts of climate change, such as heatwaves, floods and droughts on people, for example by creating cool shady places in systems and using wetlands to soak up and store flood waters. Planting trees is the most widely cited example of a potential nature-based solution to climate change: as trees grow they take up carbon and store it in wood and in soils. This is a good approach in principle and can work well in practice, but it needs to be implemented in a way that draws on good science, together with local knowledge and is sensitive to the needs and wishes of local communities; there have been examples where this has not happened and more harm than good has been done. Nature-based solutions make a lot of sense in a country like Britain where there are multiple demands on limited land area but they still need to be reconciled with the need to produce food for people. Globally it remains a challenge to protect large areas of natural ecosystems both for the sake of biodiversity and wider ecosystem health.

I will talk about the scientific evidence on nature-based solutions for climate change, drawing both on my own work and reviews I lead for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. I will then move on to reflect on what we have learnt from science and practical experience that can help to test and develop the concept of Christian environmental stewardship in the context of the climate and nature crises.