The Rio Conventions Pavilion at COP 27
High-Level Synergies Event

"Restoring balance with nature for a sustainable future"

15 November 2022 @ 03:30 PM - 05:00 PM GMT+2
The Rio Conventions at the GEF/GCF Pavilion

[ Live webcast ]

Introduction

What is clear and unequivocal is the need for coordinated measures to meaningfully slow or reverse climate change, land degradation, and biodiversity loss to safeguard human health and livelihoods, ensure food and water security, and leave a sustainable legacy for future generations. Protecting and restoring nature can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon storage, providing more than one-third of the cost-effective climate mitigation needed between now and 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels.

The returns from a regenerative restoration economy that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, land degradation, and biodiversity loss are estimated to be worth USD 125-140 trillion annually – up to one and a half times global GDP in 2021. Many scientists and decisionmakers suggest that the numerous efficiency gains of joint land, climate, and biodiversity prioritization underscore the mutual benefits that arise from bridging the aims of the three Rio Conventions rather than pursuing their objectives in isolation.

Speakers

• Her Excellency, Teresa Ribera, Deputy Prime Minister for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (Spain)
• Her Excellency, Yasmine Fouad, Egyptian Minister of Environment and CBD COP 14 President
• His Excellency, Mr. Alain-Richard Donwahi, President of UNCCD COP 15
• Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification( UNCCD)
• Mr. Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
• Ms. Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
• Simon Stiell, Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
• Moderator: Mr. David Ainsworth, Head of Communications, CBD Secretariat

Agenda

• 15:30    Opening and introduction of speakers
  Moderator, David Ainsworth
• 15:35    Welcoming Remarks
  Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD
• 15:40 Remarks
  Mr. Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the GEF
• 15:45    Remarks
  Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC
• 15:50    Remarks (Video Message)
  Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary of the CBD
• 15:55    Remarks
  His Excellency, Mr. Alain-Richard Donwahi, President of UNCCD COP 15
• 16:00 Remarks
  Her Excellency, Yasmine Fouad, Egyptian Minister of Environment and CBD COP 14 President
• 16:05    Remarks
  Her Excellency, Ms. Teresa Ribera, Deputy Prime Minister for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge
• 16:10    Q&A from the Moderator and the floor
  
  At the global level, what multilateral efforts are needed to enhance synergies among the Rio Conventions and develop a more coherent response to the interconnected climate, land and biodiversity crises?
  
  At the national level, how can action plans siloed under the UNCCD, CBD, and UNFCCC frameworks offers an immediate opportunity to align targets and commitments to realize multiple benefits and maximize returns on investment?
• 16:55    Closing Remarks by Moderator

Objectives

• Promote high-level political attention to synergies and complementarity in the implementation of the Rio Conventions;
• Emphasize the importance of integrated approaches at global and national levels in the implementation of the Rio Conventions towards their common objectives
• Outline key areas for ambitious action under each Convention’s process, the financing objectives for the GEF, and raise ambition that can be translated into concrete actions.

Key Messages

• The Rio Conventions address three facets of a single global challenge emanating from the way we produce and consume nature’s bounty
• The three Rio Conventions serve as multilateral instruments to help guide countries in achieving their development priorities for current and future generations
• In the period 2021-2030, several key action areas must be advanced under each convention process in a coordinated way.