Repairing this damage to stop emissions and capture more carbon is an essential element of achieving net zero, alongside deep cuts in emissions from other sectors such as energy and transport. However, there has also been habitat destruction and degradation, leading to declining biodiversity and substantial emissions of carbon to the atmosphere. Some patterns of management were sustainable over the centuries, supporting biodiversity and storing carbon as well as providing for the needs of people. In the UK our land, coast and seas have been managed for millennia to provide food and other resources for people. It updates our previous 2012 report on this subject taking account of the new scientific literature and the increased importance of the issue for conservationists, farmers, foresters, policy makers and others. It takes an overview, looking across the full range of habitats so we can build up a clear, quantitative picture of which store most carbon, sources of emissions, and where the best opportunities are to promote carbon uptake (sequestration). Natural England has just published a new report reviewing carbon storage and sequestration by natural habitats in England. The challenge is to reduce anthropogenic emissions and increase uptake by ecosystems, storing carbon in soils, sediments and vegetation. However, terrestrial and marine ecosystems take up carbon dioxide equivalent to over half of the emissions caused by people. Globally, around a quarter of GHGs come from land management activities, including deforestation and agriculture. ‘Nature’ is one of the priority campaigns in the run up to COP26 to address the twin threats of climate change and biodiversity loss in a joined up way. Net zero means that emissions of GHGs are balanced by removals from the atmosphere. To achieve this target global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) will have to fall by around 45% by 2030 (the UK target is 68% by 2030), and reach net zero by 2050. This is a critical step in getting the world on track to meet the 2015 UNFCCC Paris Agreement, keeping global temperature rise to well below 2 oC and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5 oC. In November this year the world’s attention will turn to Glasgow, where the UN COP26 Climate Summit will be held. By Ruth Gregg, Senior Specialist for Climate Change at Natural England and lead author of the report, and Mike Morecroft, Principal Specialist for climate change at Natural England and one of the report authors
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