The next few years offer a crucial opportunity to shape a healthier planet. With just five years remaining until the 2030 deadline for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it’s clear that global political ambitions must grow to meet the environmental challenges we face.

At our latest Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI) seminar, experts from UNEP-WCMC, BirdLife International, and RSPB explored how policy across international agreements can align to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation.

The conversation centred on the three Rio Conventions, established at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, nicknamed the “Rio Trio”:

• The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), aimed at protecting global biodiversity.
• The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), leading global efforts to combat climate change.
• The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), focused on protecting land and soil.

Meetings of these conventions, the Conference of the Parties (COPs), see countries coming together to negotiate solutions to global environmental problems.

2025 is set to be another pivotal year for environmental policy, with key milestones such as next week’s resumed negotiations for CBD COP16 in Rome. Here, decision-makers will focus on securing funds for the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Later in the year, COP30 on climate change in Belém, Brazil, will also be a critical event.

Speakers Melissa de Kock (Deputy Director of UNEP-WCMC) and Melanie Coath (Senior Climate Change Policy Officer and Acting Head of Global Policy at RSPB) emphasised that addressing environmental challenges requires urgent, coordinated action across multiple levels – particularly within the framework of the Rio conventions. Moving from commitments to impact will demand political will, financial investment, and inclusive decision-making processes.

Martin Harper, CEO of BirdLife International, outlined how BirdLife is translating the GBF’s targets into on-the-ground action. He highlighted the power of strategic collaboration in driving transformational conservation efforts, including:

• BirdLife’s successful campaign for the EU Nature Restoration Law, which sets legally binding targets for nature restoration and supports Target 2 of the GBF.
• Collaborations with multilateral development banks, like the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to restore wetlands through the Regional Flyway Initiative.
• Partnerships with the Great Green Wall Initiative to combat soil erosion and enhance biodiversity in Africa’s Sahel region.

The seminar highlights how Cambridge Conservation Initiative partners are working at the intersection of policy and real-world solutions, creating meaningful change for nature, people, and the planet.