It has been a bleak countdown to the international climate conference, COP27, which starts in Egypt on Sunday 6th Nov and ends on Friday 18th Nov. In the 12 months since COP26, the global and national mood has flipped from cautious optimism to fear and division. In Northern Ireland alone, we’ve seen the following since COP26:

• Temperatures over 30˚C recorded multiple times in the summer. Heatwaves, such as that in July, make habitats hostile places for wildlife, animals suffered heat stress and retreated wherever they could to shaded, wooded or damp areas.

• Dangerous wildfires on heath and grassland – Figures from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) show that crews tackled 1,872 gorse fires between 1 April 2021 and 24 March 2022 alone, with notable fires in the Belfast Hills and Mourne Mountains.  Ground-nesting birds like meadow pipits and skylarks are particularly affected by spring wildfires.

• Drought across much of the UK, with the driest July on record in more than 20 years in Northern Ireland – in spite of severe flooding across the north west on 23 July. Ponds dried up affecting amphibians, and plants died – the subsequent lack of nectar affecting insects.

We cannot address climate change without restoring nature. Natural habitats have a critical role to play in storing carbon and helping us adapt to the inevitable consequences of climate change. To have a global voice, the UK must ensure it is taking the right action at home – especially as we are one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.

Kathryn Brown, Director of Climate Change and Evidence for The Wildlife Trusts, says:

“It’s vital that the Prime Minister shows climate leadership by championing nature’s recovery at COP27. The climate and nature crises are two sides of the same coin – we must restore nature because natural habitats have a critical role to play in storing carbon and helping us adapt to the inevitable consequences of climate change. At the same time, climate change is one of the biggest threats to nature at a time when it is already in freefall globally; the latest assessment reveals we have lost 70% of our biodiversity since 1970.

“The UK must do more than simply turn up to COP27. We need assurances that the Government will rapidly increase efforts to protect at least 30% of land and sea by 2030 and strengthen environmental protections at home. Government’s failure to publish nature recovery targets this week – breaking the Environment Act – does little to reassure us they are acting to address the magnitude of the challenge we face.

Dr Annika Clements, Director of Nature, Climate and Environment for Ulster Wildlife, says:

“Real and genuine action is required at COP27 – this is the “implementation COP”, setting the actions in motion needed to keep global warming within the planetary safe zone of below 1.5C.  We must all step up to play our part, crucially recognising the essential role nature has across land and sea in keeping our world habitable, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping build resilience to the locked-in impacts of climate change”.

“How can we expect other countries to prioritise nature in tackling climate change if we aren’t doing the same ourselves?”

See The Wildlife Trusts’ COP27 briefing. It addresses:

• Time is running out to avoid catastrophic warming above 1.5C – we are still on track for at least 2.5°C of warming by the end of this century, which would result in catastrophic impacts for people and wildlife, with a much greater chance of ecosystem collapse.

• If the UK wants to be a world leader on climate and nature, it must ensure it is taking the same urgent action at home. Progress must be made by all governments in the UK on commitment to protect 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030 and the UK must strengthen, not weaken, its environmental protections. Earlier this week the Government broke the law by failing to set Environment Act targets – it is not on course to halt the decline of nature let alone restore it.

• Protecting nature and prioritising resilience is becoming even more critical in the wake of global extreme weather events in 2022. Investment in nature must be central to decisions on finance at COP27, with wealthy nations ensuring global majority countries can invest in nature to mitigate and adapt to climate impacts.

The Wildlife Trusts will be watching with particular interest the following themed days at COP27:

• Saturday 12^th November – adaptation and agriculture
• Wednesday 16^th November – biodiversity

Further resources: Read Kathryn Brown’s blog A bleak countdown to COP27. See also Let Nature Help report and The Wildlife Trusts assessment of the impact of climate change across our estate in Changing Nature. The Wildlife Trusts have a list of things you can do about climate change and a short film with Sir David Attenborough plus an animation showing how restored nature can help tackle the climate crisis here.

Dangerous fires on heath, grassland and farmland – equal to 30,000 football pitches have been burnt across the UK so far this year – which amounts to just over 20,000 hectares in 2022. Source: https://effis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/apps/effis.statistics/estimates