Commonwealth steps up battle on climate change with regenerative solutions model

The Commonwealth has launched a regenerative climate change model that marries the ancient wisdom of indigenous groups with emerging innovations, technologies, and scientific approaches.

Common Earth, is the programme that will create a network of projects that could be replicated and adapted to any community, country or region.

Government officials, environmentalists, scientists, economists, and representatives from indigenous groups from around the Commonwealth met at the organisation’s headquarters in London to discuss how the initiative can achieve sustainable development whilst protecting the planet.

“It is not game over in the battle against climate change its game on,” said Secretary-General Patricia Scotland. “Because this about looking at practical, existing strategies to clean streams, restore forests and damaged ecosystems, protect marine health, educate our populations and challenge the economic and development approaches that led to the decline of our planet.

“It is about a development model that takes into account the ancient wisdom of the indigenous peoples that found a way to live in harmony with their environments and integrates it into our scientific advances and solutions to climate change. And it is a model I will take to ministers in our upcoming trade and finance summits and heads of governments at their meeting next year.”

Common Earth, she added, will be based on regenerative economic models.

The Common Earth project will be hinged on the activities of five working groups:

• the ‘Commonwealth Small State, Climate Change Blue-Green Trade Working Group’;
• the ‘Gender and Climate Change Working Group’;
• the ‘Indigenous Affairs Working Group’;
• the ‘Waters Prosperity Working Group’;
• the ‘Regenerative Finance Working Group’.

In addition to delivering pilot projects from Belize, Kalinago, New Zealand, and Kiribati delegates formed five working groups on blue-green trade, indigenous affairs, regenerative finance and gender and climate change. All participants agreed to take coordinated action on regeneration in their regions and to deliver new projects including the Global Common Earth Network.”

Original source: ComSec
Published on 04 October 2019