Not all means of fighting climate change involve shifting technology, like switching to renewable power or electric cars. In fact, natural climate solutions have a key role to play in reducing emissions and boosting the resilience of communities across America. These solutions can enhance the health of our soils and ecosystems, conserving forests, watersheds, grasslands, farmlands, and more. Natural climate solutions are critical to the success of any climate change policy.
The Natural Climate Solutions Policy Platform lays out the National Wildlife Federation’s federal policy recommendations to swiftly scale up natural climate solutions, for both climate mitigation and climate resilience. Recommendations are structured around several analytical categories based on land or habitat type. We include key principles for consideration and specific policy recommendations within each.
The National Wildlife Federation defines the concept of natural climate solutions as strategies that support or enhance the ability of natural systems to both mitigate climate change (enhancing the removal or storage of carbon) and strategies that increase the resilience of human communities and wildlife populations to the impacts of climate-related natural hazards.
Natural climate solutions often offer the most cost-effective means of climate action, while providing numerous co-benefits to humans and wildlife. They can improve the quality of wildlife habitat and create economic opportunity through the reclamation, restoration, and maintenance of carbon stocks. The platform includes natural climate solutions for forests, working agricultural lands, oceans and coastal ecosystems, resilience and adaptation, and more.
The National Wildlife Federation supports natural climate solutions as part of a broader set of policies and programs that reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and enhance climate adaptation for natural and human systems.
Learn more about natural climate solutions through our infographic series:
• The Potential of Natural Climate Solutions
• Nature Improves Resilience to Climate Change
• U.S. Forests as Natural Climate Solutions
• Natural Climate Solutions on Agricultural Lands
