Beyond Carbon: A Paradigm Shift for Climate Action – resilience.org

Report on Ecosystem Integrity and its Central Role in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

Current global climate strategies, including those central to COP30, demonstrate a critical oversight by focusing narrowly on carbon emissions while largely ignoring the role of ecosystem integrity in climate regulation. This report finds that the systemic destruction of terrestrial ecosystems, particularly forests, constitutes a primary driver of climate instability and directly undermines the achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The scientific basis for this finding is rooted in mechanisms such as the Biotic Pump theory, which explains how intact forests regulate continental hydrological cycles. A fundamental paradigm shift is required to elevate ecosystem protection and restoration from a peripheral concern to a core objective of global climate action, ensuring a holistic approach to achieving SDG 13 (Climate Action) and its interconnected targets.

The Limitations of a Carbon-Centric Climate Strategy

The prevailing focus on carbon emissions and net-zero targets has created a “tunnel vision” in climate policy. This narrow approach fails to account for the full complexity of the Earth’s climate system and presents a significant barrier to sustainable development.

• Inadequate Climate Modeling: Standard climate models often omit or underestimate the dynamic land-atmosphere water cycle, which is powerfully mediated by living ecosystems. This omission leads to a consistent underestimation of the speed and severity of climate collapse resulting from deforestation.
• Misallocation of Resources: The carbon-centric view promotes inadequate solutions, such as monoculture tree farms for carbon offsetting, which fail to replicate the complex hydrological and climate-regulating functions of native forests. This misdirects funding and effort away from genuine ecological restoration.
• Threat to SDG 13 (Climate Action): By ignoring the role of ecosystem degradation as a powerful short-term multiplier of climate change, the current strategy is insufficient to meet the goals of SDG 13. Halting emissions alone will not stabilize the climate if the planet’s primary biological regulation systems are broken.

The Biotic Pump: Scientific Basis for Ecosystem-Climate Linkages

The Biotic Pump theory provides a physical explanation for the critical role of forests in climate regulation, directly linking the health of terrestrial ecosystems to the achievement of key SDGs.

1. Moisture Transport Mechanism: Forests transpire vast volumes of water vapor. The subsequent condensation of this vapor into clouds creates a low-pressure zone that actively pulls moist air from the oceans deep into continental interiors.
2. Sustaining Hydrological Cycles: This mechanism, known as the Biotic Pump, is responsible for creating “flying rivers” that are the source of rainfall for vast agricultural and habitable regions, making it fundamental to global water and food security.
3. Relevance to Sustainable Development Goals:
   • SDG 15 (Life on Land): The Biotic Pump is a core function of healthy, intact forest ecosystems. Its preservation is synonymous with the goals of protecting and restoring terrestrial ecosystems.
   • SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation): By functioning as the planet’s primary freshwater generators for continents, forests are indispensable for ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water.

Consequences of Ecosystem Degradation on Sustainable Development

The destruction of forests, particularly in regions like the Amazon, disables the Biotic Pump and other critical ecosystem functions, triggering a cascade of negative impacts that jeopardize global development targets.

• Climate Destabilization: Deforestation leads to the collapse of the natural cooling system, increased absorption of solar radiation, and the formation of persistent high-pressure zones that block incoming moisture, leading to desertification.
• Threat to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger): The disruption of continental rainfall patterns directly threatens agricultural productivity and the stability of the world’s food supply.
• Threat to SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities): Increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods resulting from a broken water cycle, pose a direct threat to human settlements and infrastructure.

Recommendations for a New Paradigm in Global Climate Action

To effectively address the climate crisis and achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, COP30 must catalyze a shift from a carbon-centric model to one that fully integrates ecosystem integrity. The following actions are recommended:

1. Integrate Biogeophysics into Climate Policy: Global climate frameworks and national policies must recognize and protect the climate-regulating functions of ecosystems. This requires moving beyond carbon accounting to value the role of forests in hydrological cycles, directly supporting SDG 13 and SDG 15.
2. Prioritize Restoration of Native Ecosystems: Funding and policy must shift from simplistic offset schemes to the large-scale restoration of diverse, native ecosystems capable of re-establishing complex climate functions. This is essential for achieving SDG 6 and SDG 15.
3. Reform Drivers of Deforestation: Address the root causes of ecosystem destruction by fundamentally reforming agriculture and cattle ranching. This action is critical for making progress on SDG 2, SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 15.
4. Foster Integrative Partnerships: In line with SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), new collaborations must be formed that unite scientific research on ecosystem functions with the ancient wisdom of Indigenous peoples, who have long understood the link between forests and climate stability.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 13: Climate Action
   • The entire article is a critique of current climate action, particularly the “carbon tunnel vision” of conferences like COP30. It argues for a broader approach that includes ecosystem protection as a core climate strategy, highlighting how ecosystem destruction is “the systemic sabotage of the planet’s most powerful climate control mechanism.”
2. SDG 15: Life on Land
   • This is a central theme. The article focuses on the destruction of the Amazon forest, the need to “halt deforestation,” and the call for “massive ecological restoration.” It emphasizes that forests are not just “carbon sinks” but are vital for climate regulation and continental habitability.
3. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
   • The article extensively discusses the role of forests in the hydrological cycle, describing them as “freshwater generators.” The “Biotic Pump” theory, which is a core concept in the text, explains how forests create rainfall and transport moisture, directly linking forest health to water availability.
4. SDG 2: Zero Hunger
   • The article links climate stability to global food security, stating that the “stability of the world’s food, water, and climate depends on” the health of ecosystems like the Amazon. It also identifies “agriculture and cattle ranching” as the “main vectors of destruction,” pointing to the need for sustainable food production systems.
5. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
   • The author calls for a fundamental shift in global policy and partnerships. The critique of COP30 is a call to reform global climate agreements. The article advocates for “New humane partnerships” and elevating “biogeophysics… to the core of global climate law,” which requires enhanced policy coherence and international cooperation.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Under SDG 13 (Climate Action):
   • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning. The article explicitly calls for elevating “ecosystem protection and recovery from a peripheral concern to the core of global climate action,” which is a direct call to change climate policies.
   • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation and adaptation. The article itself is an effort to raise awareness about the “Biotic Pump” theory and the “inexplicable omission” of ecosystem dynamics from dominant climate models and discussions.
2. Under SDG 15 (Life on Land):
   • Target 15.1: Ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests. The article’s main plea is to “fully respect, protect and restore our marvelous planet,” with a focus on the Amazon forest.
   • Target 15.2: Promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests. This is directly addressed by the call to stop “ecosystem destruction” and undertake “massive ecological restoration.”
   • Target 15.3: Combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil. The article warns that deforestation triggers “desert-like conditions across vast continental areas” by breaking the Biotic Pump mechanism.
3. Under SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation):
   • Target 6.6: Protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including… forests. The article’s entire argument about the Biotic Pump and forests as “freshwater generators” supports the critical need to protect these ecosystems to maintain the hydrological cycle.
4. Under SDG 2 (Zero Hunger):
   • Target 2.4: Ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices. The article identifies “agriculture and cattle ranching” as the “main vectors of destruction,” implying a need to reform these systems to be sustainable and not contribute to deforestation.
5. Under SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals):
   • Target 17.14: Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development. The author argues against the incoherent policy of focusing only on carbon while ignoring ecosystem destruction, which undermines the very climate stability the carbon policies aim to achieve.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Implied Indicator for SDG 15 (Life on Land):
   • Area of forest cover and ecosystem health: While no specific numbers are given, the article’s focus on “ecosystem destruction” versus “massive ecological restoration” implies that the primary indicator of progress would be the net change in the area of intact, functioning native forests, particularly in the Amazon.
2. Implied Indicator for SDG 13 (Climate Action):
   • Inclusion of biogeophysical mechanisms in climate models and policy: The article heavily criticizes that the “Biotic Pump” is “missing in the dominant global climate models.” A key indicator of progress would be the formal integration of these land-atmosphere water cycle dynamics into IPCC models and the resulting climate policies formulated at events like COP30.
3. Implied Indicator for SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation):
   • Stability of continental rainfall patterns: The article explains how forests generate “flying rivers” and pull “humid air from the oceans deep into the continents.” An implied indicator of a healthy, functioning ecosystem would be the measurement and stability of these atmospheric moisture flows and resulting rainfall, which are disrupted by deforestation.
4. Implied Indicator for SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals):
   • Allocation of climate finance: The article criticizes how “billions to be funneled into bogus, short-term carbon offset schemes.” A measurable indicator would be the shift in funding from such schemes towards direct funding for the protection and restoration of intact native ecosystems and the support of Indigenous territories.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: resilience.org