Europe is driving the global environmental agenda.
Yet Europe — through its consumption and investments — also bears considerable responsibility for climate breakdown and the global loss of biodiversity. Between 1990 and 2008, Europe was the top importer of deforestation around the world, resulting in the cutting down of an expanse of forest the size of Portugal.
In partnership with committed government actors including France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and the European Union, Conservation International is driving funding to protect and restore tropical forests that absorb and store critical carbon; increase protection and improve management of oceans; and produce and apply science-based evidence to promote nature-based development.
By the numbers
What we do
While the Conservation International team in Europe work closely with the wider global CI team, these are areas where we can maximise opportunities arising from engagement with Europe based partners:
- Public policy & advocacy: Advocate to get nature fully mainstreamed into development aid and climate policy and positions, across the EU and focal European countries.
- Corporate transitions: Actively engage and support corporate partners to set and deliver ambitious commitments on nature and human rights within and beyond their value chain.
- Nature finance: Capitalize on CI’s reputation as a thought leader in conservation finance to build up as a trusted partner with investors and development banks to scale existing innovative finance products and co-create new initiatives.
- Science partnerships: Engage with European science partners and initiatives, such as the Frankfurt Conservation Centre, that accelerate delivery, particularly to engage with relevant science to policy priorities.
Policy engagement
Conservation International is working with European decision-makers to integrate nature-based solutions in national and international policies and to support “green” economic stimulus packages.
We are supporting European decision-makers to design sound policies that address imported deforestation and ecosystem degradation, while connecting with international negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Learn more »
Industry engagement
Deforestation is responsible for nearly 12 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, half of which are the result of internationally traded commodities. Consumption in Europe of products such as coffee, cacao, palm oil (found in 50 percent of supermarket products) and soy represents around 10 percent of the global share of deforestation.
Conservation International seeks to drive collaboration with and among industry leaders in those commodity sectors, to ensure sustainable and deforestation-free supply chains that benefit nature and people.
Through strategic partnerships with coffee stakeholders in Europe, we actively contribute making coffee the world's first sustainable agricultural product. Learn more »
We are engaging with corporate actors and other partners to build a movement that supports demand for sustainable palm oil in Europe. Learn more »
