Message from the Executive Secretaries

The world’s population is on track to reach 10 billion by 2050, just as the planetary systems that sustain life on Earth are being pushed to their limits. We cannot tackle these issues in isolation. Leveraging synergies between international commitments to stem biodiversity loss, tackle climate change and combat land degradation and drought is key to addressing these interconnected crises.

For centuries, we have used nature to live. As results:

Nearly one million species are at risk of extinction
Nearly three quarters of the Earth’s ice-free land has been transformed to meet human demands for food, raw materials and homes
If humans continue to emit greenhouse gases at current rates, global temperature will rise more than 1.5 degrees Celsius target within decades

Since their launch at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, the three sister conventions on land, biodiversity and climate have been exchanging knowledge, coordinating work of scientists, facilitating engagement of all stakeholders and supporting government negotiations to address this triple environmental crisis.

There is a strong rationale for synergies. Sustainable ecosystem management and restoration, agrifood systems and energy transitions present vital opportunities to advance all three Rio conventions and make societies and economies more resilient.

As Executive Secretaries of the three Rio conventions, we stand united in our commitment to make synergies a lynchpin of our collective efforts that benefit climate, land and biodiversity—and ultimately all of us who depend on our planet’s life-support system.

The existential risks facing humanity can, and must, be jointly addressed, recognizing that climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation are different expressions of one planetary crisis — a crisis driven by “misallocation of capital” and underpinned by the challenges of poverty on the one hand and overconsumption, including the unsustainable exploitation of nature, on the other.

Explore more

Joint Liaison Group of the Rio Conventions

The Joint Liaison Group (JLG) was established in 2001 to strengthen collaboration between the secretariats of the three Rio Conventions: the CBD, UNCCD and UNFCCC. The JLG promotes coordination, information exchange and joint action on shared priorities across the conventions. It brings together Executive Secretaries, scientific officers and other secretariat staff to advance integrated solutions to global environmental challenges.

COP Decisions on Synergies

This page brings together Conference of the Parties (COP) decisions that promote synergies among the Rio Conventions. It provides a reference point for how Parties have guided our cooperation through formal outcomes of the negotiation process.

Case Studies

Countries are finding that stronger results come when the three Rio Conventions are implemented together. Integrating commitments on climate, biodiversity and land into a single approach makes it easier to plan, measure and finance solutions that deliver multiple benefits.