COP28: Dr. Ian Brettell

"We can't reach our climate goals without nature. If the climate continues to degrade, then we're going to lose biodiversity. And if nature starts to collapse, then we simply cease to exist."

Ian Bretell, Biodiversity Policy Officer at Crowther Lab underlines the stark reality of how dependent the global economy is on the natural world, and encourages us to assign greater value to nature, so it's no longer possible for industries to extract natural resources without being aware of and responsible for the need to maintain healthy ecosystems.

He identifies the root of our inability to fix the problem as the dynamic between finite resources and the drive for exponential growth - which helps explain why so many governments make public committments about addressing theclimate crisis at the same time as expanding oil and gas and fossil fuel extraction. While he is encouraged by the engagement of the private sector with nature positive solutions, he's also aware of how little time is left for us to act before irreversible damage is done.