For millions of us, trapped at home during lockdown, being able to escape to nature never felt more important. But the reality is that nature is in crisis too.
Over 40 million birds have vanished from UK skies in the last 50 years and just five per cent of the UK is well looked after for nature.
This is serious. As you know, nature doesn’t just lift our spirits: we need it for the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink; it stores carbon, helps us adapt to climate change and so much more. Moreover, scientists agree the destruction of nature has increased the risk of disease outbreaks like Covid-19!
But it’s not too late. This year is a crossroads for us, for nature and for the world. This really is your time to make a difference.
What’s great is we have the solutions to restore nature and mitigate against the effects of climate change. If we are to Revive our World, politicians need to match their words with action and prioritise two pivotal things this year:
This must be underpinned by a green economic recovery from the devastation of the pandemic.
In 2021, there are an unprecedented number of opportunities to influence this change.
As every country in the UK writes new environmental laws, our campaigning priorities for the first half of the year will focus on influencing the national and local elections in England, Scotland and Wales. We have the power to lead by doing; what we do at home to save nature can set the bar for local and national policy makers, and the rest of the world.
Later this year, world leaders will be negotiating last-resort targets to save nature and address the climate crisis at two global United Nations summits. The first is a global summit on biodiversity (CBD CoP15) and the second is a global summit on climate change (CoP26).
At CBD, leaders will be setting targets for global action on nature. These targets need to be ambitious and legally binding. We cannot risk another lost decade like the one that has just ended, which saw the world miss the targets set in 2010.
As we look to CoP26, we have the opportunity to raise the profile of the nature crisis and influence our policy makers on home soil to include the role of nature in climate strategies.
As our campaigning focus switches from influencing local policies to global commitments, we will be working with the rest of climate and nature movements. In particular, Revive Our World will join with The Climate Coalition’s The Time Is Now campaign to demonstrate mass public support for nature’s recovery and ambitious climate action.
You will have plenty of opportunities to demonstrate your support and take meaningful action:
We understand that this will still be a tough year and our actions will remain in line with government restrictions. We are committed to providing you with ample opportunity to take meaningful and safe action as we enter a pivotal moment in the history of our planet: one in which we all have a part to play to save it.
With your support and by joining with the nature and climate movements, we know we can restore the birds, flowers and insects that our parents and grandparents knew; ensure enough space for wildlife to thrive alongside us; protect communities from natural disasters; ensure cleaner air and water and boost our own health and wellbeing.
Around the world millions of people like you are demanding our politicians act with ambition and urgency to save the natural world. Join them at rspb.org.uk/reviveourworld