House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis Finds Common Ground on Nature-Based Solutions

Last week, the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis held a hearing, Solving the Climate Crisis: Natural Solutions to Cutting Pollution and Building Resilience, which focused on using nature to mitigate, adapt, and increase resilience to climate change. Chairwoman Kathy Castor (D-FL) noted that “nature offers us so many solutions to the climate crisis, and I think we have identified common ground.”

Nature-based solutions restore and/or emulate nature in order to increase human, ecosystem, and infrastructure resilience to climate impacts. These solutions often result in environmental, economic, and social co-benefits, including carbon sequestration—a key tool in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Nature-based solutions include both green and natural infrastructure. The witnesses and Select Committee used similar terms, such as natural climate solutions and natural solutions, to describe these concepts. For the purpose of this article, we will refer to these concepts as nature-based solutions.

During the hearings, witness Dr. Jennifer Howard, the Marine Climate Change Director for Conservation International, stated, “while much of the required emissions reductions needed to keep us below 1.5℃ temperature rise must come from decreasing use of fossil fuels, nature-based opportunities can also play a critical role in the transition to a low carbon future and a safe climate.” Nature-based projects, such as planting trees and restoring wetlands, have adaptation and mitigation benefits for both coastal and inland states. These projects can be implemented now to reduce pollution and increase resilience.

As nature-based solutions are a critical tool to address the climate crisis, many witnesses emphasized that they should be more highly valued in order to raise their profile. According to witness Frankie Myers, Vice Chairman of the Yurok Tribal Council, “our forest ecosystem function and integrity need to be held to equal value” as the economic benefits of forestry. Healthy ecosystems, such as forests, can mitigate climate change by storing carbon and improve resilience by acting as buffers to floods or natural disasters.

The Select Committee and witnesses also discussed the co-benefits of nature-based solutions. Representative Julia Brownley (D-CA) explained that Oxnard, California, received a California state grant which provided funding to plant fruit trees in areas plagued by air pollution. She noted that the trees are a climate justice tool as well as a carbon emissions reduction tool, which illustrates one of the many co-benefits provided by nature-based solutions.

Above all, the witnesses emphasized the importance of federal funding for nature-based projects. Witness Joe Fargione, The Nature Conservancy’s Science Director, stated that “there is a need for increased investment for […] coastal ecosystems protection and restoration.” Dr. Fargione agreed with Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO) that the Land and Water Conservation Fund is an important funding source for nature-based projects, and that federal funding is fundamental.

Members of the Select Committee spoke about several proposed bills during the hearing, such as the Climate Risk Disclosure Act of 2019 (H.R. 3623) and Study on Improving Lands Act (H.R. 4133), to help combat the climate crisis. The hearing showcased bipartisan support for nature-based solutions as a means to improve resilience and adapt to a changing environment. The federal government has the opportunity to build on this momentum through legislation, appropriations, and project management.

 

By: Savannah Bertrand