4th edition of the One Planet Summit: mobilizing and taking action for biodiversity (11 January 2021)

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The link between climate change and the degradation of biodiversity has been proven. Climate events upset natural environments and threaten many plant and animal species with extinction. This loss of ecosystems and natural habitats increases the risk of animal-to-human disease transmission, as was the case with the Coronavirus. But there is still time to take action!

On 11 January 2021, the One Planet Summit unites political mobilization by proposing concrete and innovative solutions to safeguard biodiversity.

Protecting biodiversity means saving the planet

Scaling up the international community’s ambitions on protecting nature and on the climate while responding to new issues raised by the COVID-19 crisis will be the goal of this 4th edition of the One Planet Summit.

These exchanges will see the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, meet Heads of State and Government, leaders of international organizations, business leaders and civil society. They will cover four areas of action:

  • Protection of terrestrial and marine ecosystems,
  • Promotion of agro-ecology,
  • Mobilization of funding for biodiversity,
  • Protection of tropical forests, species and human health.

Created in 2017 by the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron, the One Planet Summit is being held at the initiative of France in cooperation with the United Nations and the World Bank.

Great Green Wall Investment Forum at the One Planet Summit

One of the main announcements at the One Planet Summit on Biodiversity will be the creation of the Great Green Wall Accelerator and the effort to coordinate international stakeholders to inject fresh momentum into this flagship African Union initiative.

Under the impetus of The Prince of Wales, the Investment Forum was conceived to bring together all public and private finance stakeholders, political decision-makers and representatives of the private sector, to help create a coalition of multidisciplinary players ready to commit to achieving the Great Green Wall’s 2030 targets: to create 10 million jobs, sequester 250 million tonnes of carbon, and restore 100 million hectares of degraded land in the 11 countries of the Sudano-Sahelian belt.

The Forum will provide an opportunity to present several flagship announcements to revive the international community’s mobilization concerning the Great Green Wall Initiative and include it in the long-term timetable of upcoming meetings (COP15 in Kunming, the EU-AU summit, Africa-France summit, and COP26).