September

"The demand for urban nature-based solutions can be expected to rise exponentially, as greening cities is the best measure to address the accelerating urban heat island effect". European Investment Bank, Hudson, G., Hart, S., Verbeek, A. (2023). Investing in nature-based solutions – State-of-play and way forward for public and private financial measures in Europe.

Photo: Temperate part of, probably, the smallest garden in the city. Taken in august 2023 by Monica Pinheiro. Free to use if you respect the license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

May

Some people say “let’s invent a machine to sequester carbon” but “we already have a fantastic productive system to sequester lots of carbon. And beyond that, it produces food, timber, creates biodiversity, gives dignity to peasant labour” and promotes life in Syntropy (excerpt from short film made specially to be presented at COP21, Paris). 

So, what is this invention? 

It’s a Terrestrial invention, refined and matured along billions of years, that intelligent people are replicating, known among humans as «Agroforestry». 

Want to spend billions in carbon capture? 

Spend in agroforestry. And while capturing carbon, you will also be feeding the world, saving biodiversity, recovering our soils, creating local jobs, lowering the temperature, bringing moisture to soils, reducing inputs, among many other great things. On top of all the benefits, you do not need to use any rare materials for building expensive technology, only what’s available in each place, making it a resilient and strategical solution for any country.

Photo by Monica Pinheiro, free to use if you respect the license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

July

"Beyond our material limits (...) lies another world. A place worth visiting. An investment worth making. A destination worth reaching. Tomorrow is another country. They do things differently there. Beyond the limits to affluence lies an affluence that only limits can reveal to us. Limits are the gateway to the limitless." Tim Jackson (2021). Post Growth: Life After Capitalism. Photo by Monica Pinheiro free to use if you respect the license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

March

 

“(…) the analysis suggests that NCS [Natural Climate Solutions] have the potential to limit the pace of climate change significantly, delivering up to one-third of net emission reductions required by 2030. But what makes investments in nature especially attractive if done well is the enormous and varied array of “co-benefits” that can arise alongside directly addressing the biodiversity and climate crises – benefits that accrue to nature and to communities.” World Economic Forum (2021). Consultation: Nature and Net Zero.