COP28: new plan for living in harmony with Earth

John D Liu, Ecosystem Ambassador, Commonland Foundation and founder of the Ecosystem Restoration Camps and Communities Movement speaks to me at COP28 in Dubai. He has been saying for a long time that “the restoration of the Earth’s systems must be the great work of our time”. And the focus of his work in repairing the Earth by bringing everyday people together, to restore degraded ecosystems from the ground up, is how he says we can address global challenges like food insecurity, soil infertility, air quality, and water quality, to live in harmony with one another and the Earth.

On signs of optimism at COP28 he says the fact that “nature-based interventions are being discussed more widely” is a “very good thing”. He also sees another shift, in that we’re now acknowledging “all our problems are interrelated: poverty, hunger, war, climate change” and this makes him optimistic things are “moving in the right direction” because we know “if we answer them all at the same time we’re going to succeed”.

COP28 Update

It’s late in the day but there’s still time. As the curtain falls on the COP8 negotiations in Dubai, the world’s attention is now firmly on the wording of the final document that will be signed off in the coming hours. Hopes of an agreement incorporating a fossil fuel phase out are hanging by a thread.

On the draft text now on the table, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President, is urging countries to get behind it. “Together, we have the opportunity to deliver history again. We can send a signal to the world that multilateralism does actually work, that this process can respond to what the science is telling us, that it can deliver for the most vulnerable, and keep 1.5 within reach. We need to focus everyone on closing out the toughest issues that continue to remain. I need all parties to show even more flexibility to get us to the finish line.”

Al Jaber  adds: “The world is watching. Let’s not rest until we get this done.”

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