The G20 Environment Ministers’ Meeting ended today in Naples with the approval of an important joint communiqué, the outcome of weeks of negotiations.

The document is based on three macro areas.

1) Biodiversity: protection of natural capital and restoration of ecosystems with solutions based on nature, defense and restoration of the soil, protection of water resources, oceans and seas including the prevention and reduction of marine plastic litter.

2) Efficient use of resources and circular economy: G20 vision on circular economy with a focus on sustainable textiles and fashion, circular cities, education and training. Recognition for the first time of the results of the recent IPBES and IPCC report launched on 10 June on the link between biodiversity and climate change.

3) Sustainable finance: focus on specific financing needs for the protection and restoration of ecosystems as a contribution to the G20 work on the future shape of the global financial system.

Excerpts from the Communiqué with a focus on land restoration:

Nature-based solutions or ecosystem-based approaches to address climate change, biodiversity loss and poverty .

We aim to harness the power of Nature-based Solutions or Ecosystem-based Approaches to address biodiversity loss, restore degraded land, boost resilience, mitigate and adapt to climate change, while providing multiple benefits across the economic, social, and environmental domains

Call for action on protecting, conserving, sustainably managing and restoring degraded lands

We welcome the successful convening of the workshop organized by the Italian Presidency on the G20 Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation and Enhancing Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats launched under Saudi Arabia’s Presidency in 2020.

We reiterate our support for the Initiative and on a voluntary basis, will continue to lead, strengthen cooperation, further promote investment and provide adequate means of implementation and share experiences on land protection, conservation, sustainable management and restoration initiatives and programs in line with the objectives of the Initiative.

We stress that the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is a crucial window of opportunity to protect, conserve, restore and sustainably manage land, including forest, and water resources. Building on existing initiatives we share the ambition to achieve a 50% reduction of degraded land by 2040, on a voluntary basis.

We will continue our efforts to combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, and strive to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality by 2030 in furtherance of SDG Target 15.3 and a number of related Sustainable Development Goals and Targets.

We encourage the integration of land conservation, restoration and sustainable management into post COVID19 recovery plans and strategies. We emphasize that healthy ecosystems, inter alia, forests, grasslands, drylands, rangelands, croplands, peatlands, mangroves, soil, tundra, karst, and wetlands are essential for the sustainability of biodiversity, food security and supporting human health and well-being.

This underscores the importance of terrestrial ecosystems and the services they provide including for both global food security and resilience to future shocks. In this context, we welcome the G20 Matera Declaration on Food Security, Nutrition and Food Systems, contributing as appropriate to working with relevant Ministers towards the UN Food Systems Summit.

We support voluntary global and national efforts to protect and conserve land and ecosystems in accordance with national priorities and policies. We aim to coordinate our actions with ongoing multilateral efforts for the protection conservation, sustainable management and restoration of degraded terrestrial ecosystems and habitats.

Mindful of the interconnectedness of poverty, health, economic and environmental challenges, we commit to a just and equitable transition to sustainable economies, leaving no one behind, whilst taking into account the different levels of development and capacity of countries. We encourage the provision of financial, technological and capacity building support to developing countries especially to the least developed countries, making the best use of existing governance frameworks and working to identify new and innovative solutions. Recalling the principles of the Rio Declaration and recognizing that we face different challenges, we will strengthen our international cooperation towards sustainable development

Read the full text Communiqué here : Find out more on Sustainable Finance; Education, capacity building and training; Sustainable and Circular Cities; Call for action on Sustainable and circular resource use; Renewing our efforts on Marine plastic litter; Call for action on our ocean and seas; Call for action on sustainable water management; Call for action on protecting, conserving, sustainably managing and restoring degraded lands; Nature-based solutions or ecosystem-based approaches to address climate change, biodiversity loss and poverty

About the G20

The G20 is the international forum that brings together the world’s major economies. Its members account for more than 80% of world GDP, 75% of global trade and 60% of the population of the planet.

The forum has met every year since 1999 and includes, since 2008, a yearly Summit, with the participation of the respective Heads of State and Government.