This report examines the mitigation potential of climate friendly soil management practices at global, EU and German level, along with key management measures, their co-benefits and trade-offs, and implementation challenges.

This study examines the role of nature-based solutions (NBS) for global climate protection and in international climate policy. It provides a critical assessment of global mitigation potentials of NBS in forests, croplands, grasslands, terrestrial and coastal wetlands, and settlements and provides recommendations for international climate policy such as under ⁠UNFCCC⁠. The results show that the potential of NBS to mitigate emissions is probably overestimated in the scientific literature due to various factors. Nevertheless, NBS can bring multiple benefits for people and the environment and should be promoted actively.

This infographic was created for the study "Nature-based Solutions and Global Climate Protection". It has been developed by Öko-Institut and Ecologic Institute on behalf of the German Environment Agency. It is based on Reise et al. (2022): Nature-based Solutions and global climate protection. Climate Change 01/2022. Dessau-Roßlau. You can download a print version of the infographic.

In this project, Ecologic Institute in cooperation with Oeko-Institut and Giessen University, analyses measures for climate-friendly soil use and the challenges and opportunities of transfer-based instruments as well as other funding mechanisms to promote these measures. In addition, current legal and political framework conditions for nature-based solutions and climate-friendly soil use will be examined.