Dozens of global NGOs and business organisations have published a paper making the case and setting out the scientific justification for a Global Goal for Nature, the equivalent of the universal climate goal of ‘1.5 degrees or under’. The Global Goal for Nature is seen as a necessary vision and ambition to counter the current lack of action for nature protection, epitomized by the recent UK Treasury Dasgupta review showing that we have collectively failed the natural world, with demands far outstripping its capacity to supply us with goods and services, putting at risk the prosperity and health of current and future generations. 

The announcement of this publication has taken place ahead of government negotiations to monitor goals and targets in the UN draft Global Biodiversity Framework commencing Monday 3^rd May at what is known as Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Tecnological Advice (SBSTTA).

To prove the case, a paper has been written – co-authored by Harvey Locke, Chair of the IUCN WCPA Beyond the Aichi Targets Task Force at Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Professor in Earth System Science at the University of Potsdam and CEOs of a dozen Conservation and Business organizations –, highlighting the unprecedented consensus behind the Global Goal. The paper draws on 78 published academic papers. It also points to the approach needed to measure this reverse of nature loss, recommending a focus on measuring abundance, diversity and resilience of species and of ecosystems at a global level as well as utilizing a mitigation hierarchy that avoids areas that are significant for biodiversity, limits other losses to nature, and compensates for unavoidable losses through ecological restoration.