Participation of the Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands at COP26 on Climate Change

The UN Climate Change Conference COP26 took place in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November 2021. The Secretariat hosted and actively participated in a number of events during the two-week period.

In the leadup to COP26, the Secretariat prepared a brief on harnessing wetland wise use, protection and restoration in delivering climate change outcomes, available in English, French and Spanish here.

The Secretary General of the Convention was a speaker in the official side event, entitled CBD COP 15: Strengthening Synergies through the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and Promoting Transformational Change to Restore Balance with Nature held on 6 November. The Secretariat also organized three events during COP26, exploring different aspects of wetlands action for climate change outcomes: 

1. Financing Wetlands Conservation and Restoration for Climate Benefits – Challenges and Opportunities was held on 4 November at the Republic of Korea Pavilion. With input from national governments, multilateral development banks and development agencies, the event identified possible opportunities to finance wetland conservation for climate outcomes, and identified challenges and solutions in scaling up these investments to tap the full potential that wetlands can provide.
2. The event Partners for Wetlands: Decade for Wetland Restoration, held on 8 November at the Peatlands Pavilion was organized in collaboration with the six International Organization Partners (IOPs) of the Convention, building on a session held at the World Conservation Congress in September 2021. The event highlighted why wetland restoration needs to be rapidly scaled up to tackle the climate change and biodiversity crises during the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration, and illustrated the readiness that exists for this based on the convention, efforts by parties and the work of IOPs.
3. An event on 10 November, also at the Peatlands Pavilion, entitled Leveraging MEA synergies in peatland protection and restoration for climate outcomes, addressed how commitments and efforts under MEAs, other than the climate convention, can deliver climate outcomes and how this may be further enhanced through efforts at a national and an international level.

Secretariat staff also made contributions to a number of events organized by parties to the Convention and other partners, including on the role of peatlands and blue carbon in climate change adaptation and mitigation, coastal ecosystems, water stewardship, and transboundary wetlands. A list of these events is available here.