Australian Government Response – UNEP Global Consultations on Nature Based Solutions

This document outlines Australia’s submission to UNEP’s intergovernmental consultations on nature-based solutions under UNEA Resolution 5/5, affirming support for global and regional dialogues and recommending hybrid participation for the 9–13 October 2023 sessions. It endorses three tasks: compiling science-based best-practice examples, assessing and proposing criteria and standards to align implementation with the agreed NbS definition, and identifying options to scale sustainable investment. Australia catalogs ongoing capacity-building and finance efforts, including the Indo-Pacific Offsets Scheme, multiple blue-carbon programs, ReefCloud, contributions to the Kiwa Initiative and UNDP’s Community-Based Adaptation, engagement with the TNFD Stewardship Council, a UNFCCC finance forum, investment in the Tropical Asia Forestry Fund 2, and grants such as Climate Resilient by Nature and the Blue Carbon Accelerator Fund.