The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) passed a resolution formally recognizing wild animals as a climate solution that enables natural carbon capture and ecosystem resilience.
The IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi adopted the resolution in October 2025 after years of advocacy by animal welfare organizations. The decision marks a shift in how the international community views wildlife beyond species needing protection to vital agents of planetary health. The recognition elevates wild animals alongside other nature-based approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare led the resolution effort with support from Born Free Foundation and other animal welfare organizations. These groups provided scientific evidence showing that wild animals as a climate solution, maintain carbon-rich ecosystems through their ecological roles. According to IFAW, wild animals are underappreciated climate heroes whose populations make natural carbon sinks work more effectively.
Recent research demonstrates that forests with robust animal populations store four times as much carbon as those without wildlife. This finding provides quantifiable evidence supporting the case. The animals maintain ecosystem health through activities such as pollination, seed dispersal, and fertilization, which increase carbon storage capacity.
The resolution urges the IUCN Director General to advocate for including wild animals as a climate solution in international frameworks. These include the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on Migratory Species, and the International Whaling Commission. The resolution requests that relevant scientific findings be shared with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
Countries should recognize the climate mitigation benefits of conserving wild animals in their Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement. National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans under the Global Biodiversity Framework should reflect these benefits. This policy alignment would integrate animal welfare considerations into both climate action and biodiversity protection efforts.
This policy shift responds to growing scientific evidence on the contributions of animals to ecosystem services. Research has documented how different species maintain carbon cycles through predation, grazing, seed dispersal, and nutrient transport. These ecological processes influence how much carbon ecosystems can capture and store over decades and centuries.
Wild animals as a climate solution operate by maintaining land and ocean ecosystems that sequester carbon. Forest elephants spread seeds of carbon-dense trees across landscapes. These large fruit trees store more carbon than smaller species. Elephants essentially function as gardeners planting high-carbon-storage vegetation throughout their territories.
Grazing bison encourage plant growth and nutrient recycling across grasslands. Their movement patterns and feeding behaviors create diverse vegetation structures. This diversity supports carbon storage in soils while maintaining ecosystem resilience against drought and other stresses. The animals transform grassland ecology in ways that benefit carbon sequestration.
Fish in the open ocean transport carbon to the deep sea through biological processes. Their feeding, excretion, and migration patterns move carbon from surface waters to ocean depths, where it remains sequestered for centuries. Marine mammals, such as whales, enhance the biological carbon pump through their massive movements and nutrient cycling.
Whales provide nutrients to phytoplankton populations that capture atmospheric carbon dioxide. Whale feces contain iron and nitrogen that fertilize these microscopic plants. Phytoplankton use photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide into organic matter, which eventually sinks to the ocean depths. Scientists estimate that whale populations could contribute significantly to capturing atmospheric carbon if they recover to historical levels.
The Wildlife-Friendly Alliance launched the Animals 4 Climate tool at COP29 in November 2024 in Baku. This digital platform offers policymakers science-based guidance on integrating wild animal protection into domestic climate and biodiversity strategies. The tool showcases global examples where animal conservation delivered climate benefits alongside biodiversity protection.
The resolution calls for integrating evidence about wild animals as a climate solution into IUCN knowledge products and tools. These include materials relating to nature-based solutions, the Global Species Action Plan, and rewilding guidelines. This integration would ensure that conservation planning considers climate benefits alongside biodiversity objectives.
The timing matters as the world approaches climate tipping points. Recent assessments indicate that coral decline is reaching critical thresholds, while other ecosystems are facing increasing stress. Recognizing wild animals as a climate solution provides another avenue for enhancing planetary resilience during a period of rapid environmental change.
Implementation remains crucial. Passing resolutions represents important steps, but achieving impact requires governments to translate commitments into policies and funding. Countries must incorporate considerations about wild animals as a climate solution into national climate plans and conservation strategies. This requires coordination among the environment, agriculture, and climate ministries, which often operate independently.
Funding mechanisms need to be adjusted to recognize animal conservation as climate action eligible for climate finance. Current climate funding primarily supports renewable energy, energy efficiency, and reforestation projects. Expanding eligibility to include wildlife protection programs would unlock resources for conservation work that delivers climate benefits.
Success stories exist globally showing the climate benefits of animal conservation. Rewilding projects in Europe have successfully restored predator populations, which in turn influence vegetation patterns and carbon storage. Marine protected areas that allow fish populations to recover show enhanced ecosystem health and carbon cycling. These examples demonstrate the feasibility of achieving climate benefits through animal protection.
See also: Rewilding New Zealand’s Islands and Bringing Back Native Wildlife
The resolution marks recognition that ecosystems function as integrated systems where animals and plants interact to provide services, including carbon storage. Focusing solely on vegetation while ignoring animal populations produces incomplete conservation strategies. Wild animals as a climate solution acknowledges these interconnections and the need for comprehensive ecosystem management.
The breakthrough reflects years of advocacy by animal welfare organizations presenting scientific evidence to policymakers. The adoption by IUCN members provides legitimacy that helps advance similar recognition in other international forums. The resolution lays the groundwork for expanding how climate policy addresses the natural world beyond emissions reductions and tree planting.
