5 climate lessons to learn from the past

The author asserts that the global economy is dependent on natural services valued at $125 trillion annually, yet continues to degrade natural capital, leading to systemic risks and annual disaster costs exceeding $300 billion. Drawing on 25 years of MAVA Foundation experience, the text outlines five essential strategies for conservation: applying science to make a business case for nature, adopting 'biocultural' approaches with indigenous communities, integrating stakeholders across landscapes, managing transboundary watersheds, and securing long-term finance. To avoid climate breakdown and the extinction of a million species, the author calls for companies to set science-based targets, investors to integrate natural capital risks, and governments to move beyond GDP toward circular and regenerative economies.

• Nature provides essential services to the global economy estimated at $125 trillion per year, yet nature loss and climate change are identified as major systemic risks causing over $300 billion in annual natural disaster costs.
• Five specific conservation sites demonstrate key lessons for protecting nature: the Camargue (France) highlights the need for science to make the business case for nature; the Bijagós archipelago (Guinea-Bissau) shows the importance of 'biocultural' approaches with indigenous rights; Doñana (Spain) emphasizes stakeholder integration across landscapes; the Prespa lakes (Albania, Greece, and North Macedonia) illustrate the value of transboundary management; and Banc d’Arguin (Mauritania) underscores the necessity of long-term finance.
• To meet the 1.5°C temperature goal of the Paris Agreement, global greenhouse gas emissions must decrease by 7.6% annually until 2030, while current trends show nature declining at unprecedented rates with a million species threatened with extinction.
• The author advocates for a systemic economic transformation that moves beyond GDP, adopts circular and regenerative economies, and implements a 'New Deal for Nature and People' to prioritize equity and human well-being.

APA

Hoffmann, A. (2020). 5 climate lessons to learn from the past. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/5-lessons-on-how-to-save-our-relationship-with-nature-in-2020-climate-change/

Chicago

Hoffmann, André. 5 climate lessons to learn from the past. World Economic Forum, 2020. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/5-lessons-on-how-to-save-our-relationship-with-nature-in-2020-climate-change/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Hoffmann |first1=André |title=5 climate lessons to learn from the past |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=2 January 2020 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/5-lessons-on-how-to-save-our-relationship-with-nature-in-2020-climate-change/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{hoffmann2020climate, author = {Hoffmann, André}, title = {{5 climate lessons to learn from the past}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2020}, month = jan, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/5-lessons-on-how-to-save-our-relationship-with-nature-in-2020-climate-change/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }