Reflections on Digital Sequence Information (DSI) and benefit sharing, which stem from genetic sequencing and were a key part of the COP16 agenda.
Audrey Wagner was quoted in The National News on the outcome of the COP16 negotiations in Rome, and the broader political environment surrounding them. "The US pulling funding internationally not only from environment initiatives but development funding more broadly, including the defunding and shutting down of USAID, is very unhelpful and certainly hinders progress on biodiversity and climate issues," she said.
Dr Hassan Aftab Sheikh writes on the emergence of nature finance as a critical topic in global policy discussions.
With COP16 and COP29 happening in quick succession, the world has an important opportunity to align climate and biodiversity agendas, write Professor Nathalie Seddon and Audrey Wagner in The Conversation. “In our race to cool the planet, we must ensure we don’t compromise the health of the biosphere on which we depend.”
Forbes highlights recent research from Nathalie Seddon on the impact of nature-based solutions on jobs and resilience of local communities as well as on climate and biodiversity targets.
Professor Nathalie Seddon told the BBC that biodiversity still takes a back seat to climate action, "even though the science speaks strongly to the need for fully coordinated approaches."
The Guardian spoke to experts about reported slow progress towards protecting biodiversity among participant nations of COP16. Professor Nathalie Seddon commented: "The biodiversity goals’ 2030 deadline exists for a reason: biodiverse, resilient ecosystems are the foundation of our economies and wellbeing. A bad outcome here isn’t just bad news for wildlife; it undermines food security, water quality, disaster resilience and economic stability. It worsens climate impacts of record-breaking heat, wildfires, floods and droughts."
A comprehensive review of the economic impacts of nature-based solutions, co-authored by Oxford Smith School academics, concludes they can unlock prosperity by boosting local economies, increasing agricultural productivity and creating jobs.
Business Green reports on a new "first of its kind" study co-authored by Smith School academics Professor Nathalie Seddon and Dr Brian O'Callaghan.
Arguably, there is no economy (or life) without nature. Writing for the Conversation, Emma O'Donnell (a graduate of the Smith School's MSc programme and PhD candidate with the Nature-based Solutions Initiative) and colleagues explore the role of finance at the UN's Biodiversity COP16.