DG Statement | 15 Nov, 2022

IUCN statement to UN Climate Change Conference 2022

During the 16 November High Level Segment of the UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt (COP27), IUCN Director General Dr Bruno Oberle delivered IUCN’s statement on the role of nature in addressing the climate crisis. Read the full statement below.

content hero image

IUCN DG Bruno Oberle addresses the plenary at UNFCCC COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, 16 November 2022

Photo: IUCN

Statement by Dr Bruno Oberle, Director General

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

High-Level Segment of COP 27/CMP 17/CMA 4

16 November 2022

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt


Mr. President,

The catastrophic floods, droughts and hurricanes of 2022 underscore that the climate emergency is now upon us.

IUCN expresses its deep concern at the limited response of Parties to the request made in Glasgow to strengthen their NDCs by the end of 2022. We urge Parties to urgently respond to the latest science with more rapid and deeper reductions in their greenhouse gas emissions. This is imperative in order to ‘keep 1.5 alive’.

COP27 also offers a unique opportunity for the international climate community to reinforce the deep links between the climate and biodiversity crises, and the critical role that Nature-based Solutions can play by offering a high-integrity framework for addressing both. This would send a powerful signal of support to CBD COP15 that will take place in Montreal next month.

We welcome the leadership of the Egyptian Presidency in launching the ENACT Partnership in Sharm el-Sheikh on ‘Enhancing Nature-based Solutions for an Accelerated Climate Transformation’. IUCN is proud to have collaborated with the government of Egypt in this effort.

We invite all Parties to join this Partnership. We also urge them to clearly recognise and reference the important role of Nature-based Solutions in the formal decision texts of COP27.

This will enable Parties to exercise oversight and accountability on the implementation of Nature-based Solutions and provide greater confidence to all actors in their deployment.

I thank you Mr. President.