COP29 Must Be the Last Missed Global Climate Opportunity

We are already experiencing the serious impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss on birds, people, and our planet. Yet leaders from around the world fell short of taking meaningful action to address the scale and urgency of the crises at this years’ United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.  

The outcome, while disappointing, was not a surprise to the global climate community. Audubon participated in previous climate and biodiversity COPs – including the COP16 biodiversity conference in Colombia this year – and we and our global partners recognize that the next UN climate conference in Brazil must be a game-changer for people and wildlife. There’s not a moment to lose.  

Audubon climate science predicts that two-thirds of bird species in North America face extinction from climate change and biodiversity loss, and a recent UN report found that globally, half of the world’s migratory species are in decline and more than 20 percent are threatened with extinction.  

We cannot afford another missed opportunity at COP30. There is too much at stake. 

Birds are indicators of the health of our planet. Their decline signals greater losses to come for other wildlife, ecosystems, and people. Birds also hold the key to solutions; by saving birds and their habitats, we can protect people and the planet.  

We must work urgently to reverse climate change and biodiversity loss—and ultimately “bend the bird curve”—for birds’ sake and for ours.  

Along with the Nature4Climate coalition, Audubon called for the global community to recognize and finance nature-based climate solutions at COP29. However, the outcomes of the meeting were insufficient. The message that we are taking forward to COP30, based on the latest scientific data and top learnings from our work across the Western hemisphere, is threefold:  

1.  Innovative models for hemispheric climate and conservation funding are critical to global progress.   

Through rigorous, science-based conservation planning and the right financing partners, we can strategically protect birds, reduce carbon emissions, mitigate climate change, and realize significant economic benefits for communities all at the same time.  

The Americas Flyways Initiative (AFI), a partnership between the National Audubon Society, BirdLife International, and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) is a great example of this model pairing cutting-edge science with agile financial mechanisms to sustainably manage key ecosystems for birds and people.  

At the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Cali, Colombia this October we announced alongside our partners that AFI will be moving from planning to implementation to sustainably manage more than 30 landscapes and seascapes across the Western hemisphere through 2050, and mobilize between $3 and $5 billion dollars. 

The Conserva Aves program is another partnership for creating subnational protected areas for birds that fosters biodiversity and community economic sustainability. Along with our partner organizations Birds Canada, the American Bird Conservancy, BirdLife International and Red LAC, Conserva Aves will help establish more than 80 new protected areas covering 2 million hectares (4.9 million acres) across the hemisphere.  

2. We need a rapid and responsible transition to a clean economy with needed  infrastructure that is bird and people-friendly. 

We can develop new clean energy infrastructure without compromising on biodiversity goals. Audubon scientists are leading research to understand how we can build critical clean energy infrastructure—wind, solar, and transmission lines—that minimizes the impact on birds, other wildlife, and communities.  

We’re also bringing unlikely partners to the table—energy developers, government officials, environmental organizations, and communities—to understand the science and move projects forward quickly and responsibly. We shared the latest wind energy research at Climate Week NYC in September. A full report on the opportunities for bird-friendly offshore wind development will be out in early 2025.  

3. We must continue to elevate the contributions of Indigenous peoples and local communities in biodiversity conservation and climate solutions.  

While COP29 did little to listen to and protect Indigenous peoples and local communities, one of the bright spots at the biodiversity conference COP16 was the adoption of specific tasks to ensure that the rights, contributions, and traditional knowledge of Indigenous peoples and local communities are embedded in the global biodiversity agenda. We must bring the momentum from the biodiversity conference to COP30.  

Audubon is working to elevate and provide support for Indigenous-led conservation. One example is the Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas and Indigenous Guardians programs in Canada where Indigenous Peoples are responsible for the most ambitious plans to preserve and steward the Boreal Forest. We know that to protect birds and the places they need, we must work with those who have stewarded lands for generations.  

As the world prepares for COP30, these are the principles that Audubon will continue to pursue, along with our global partners, to find science-based solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises. We don’t have time to waste.