COP16: Regenerative Solutions

NOW and Aeon will co-host a session in the People's Pavilion located in the Green Zone (Dec 5, 16:00-17:00) entitled "Regenerative Agriculture and Forestry Solutions that Prevent and Reverse Desertification." This session will explore the multifaceted benefits of regenerative practices, including:

In addition to the Green Zone session, Aeon and NOW will co-host a high-level, invitation-only Solutions Dialogue Dinner in Aeon’s private gardens and ‘Tree Library,’  a space and a platform that aim to build communities committed to repairing the planet one mission at a time adding an urban perspective to a human-centered approach. This dinner will focus on the role of carbon credits as catalytic finance for regenerative farming and forestry, exploring successes, challenges, and opportunities for joint action.

"As stewards of our planet, we have a shared responsibility to prioritize sustainable land management and resilient food systems," explain Princess Noura bint Turki Al Saud and Princess Mashael bint Saud AlShalan, Aeon Collective co-founders. "The urgency to enhance soil health, protect biodiversity, and promote regenerative agricultural practices cannot be overstated. By investing in nature-based solutions and empowering smallholder farmers, we not only address critical challenges but also create a path toward equitable and sustainable growth."

Walter Link, Founder and Chair of NOW Partners Foundation comments, "Many regions struggle with desertification and all countries face severe soil degradation, biodiversity loss and climate emergencies due also to chemical agriculture. Fortunately, successful organic agroecology innovations demonstrate already on millions of acres how to prevent and reverse desertification and regenerate fallow lands. They also strengthen food and water security, climate resilience, biodiversity and human health.” 

Link continues, "By combining these innovations with market-based mechanisms such as EoL’s Whole System Carbon Credits, farmers are fairly compensated for their crucial ecosystem services and earn far better incomes than with chemical agriculture. This is how NOW and our partners scale these innovations towards becoming the new mainstream.”

Daniel Povel, CEO of EoL Global and NOW Finance, comments, "EoL Global is pursuing a ripple effect in sustainable agriculture, setting a new standard that will inspire policies and practices globally. Regenerative finance and policy mechanisms offer investors and financiers the opportunity to directly invest in the scaling of natural farming and forestry practices. By buying Whole System Carbon Credits they support scaling the much needed transition to sustainable agriculture and related industries and systems. At NOW Finance, we also integrate these credits with regenerative land-use bonds, microfinance and other finance mechanisms to increase the breadth and speed of the transition."

"The global expansion of regenerative agriculture and forestry is a key element to solve the desertification and climate crises,” explains Hunter Lovins, a Managing Partner of NOW’s Global Academy. She emphasizes the impact of sustainable land-use: "While innovations in energy and industry reduce emissions, only organic land-use approaches can today reduce emissions and sequester carbon at massive scale and importantly for wide-scaling at a profit. Only if we make organic agroecology into the new mainstream of agriculture and forestry, will countries and companies be able reach their ambitious carbon neutrality goals. That’s why Global Academy connects the world’s leading regenerative land-use approaches to each other and to other stakeholders. We help to strengthen innovation and implementation, support hands-on training for farmers and offer MBA-style education for all stakeholders.”