IFLA Climate Action Commitment
The climate crisis is escalating
The 2021 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported on the looming crisis in global warming, and the resultant impacts it will have on environments and communities throughout our world. IFLA believes that the key to solving the climate crisis is vested in the reduction of emissions, in the resilience and transformation of human society and in the sustainability of the natural environment.
Landscape architects deliver climate solutions at scales that matter
Landscape architects are uniquely qualified to help prevent catastrophic global environmental and societal breakdown. Through planning, design and management, our work protects and repairs global ecosystems; fosters human health, well-being and happiness; cools the environment and draws down atmospheric carbon.
Landscapes include complex, interactive systems that provide a wide range of goods and services. With 70% of global populations living in cities by 2050, holistic landscape interventions are critical to transformation and sustainability.
As a creative discipline we bring expertise on Nature-based Solutions, technological innovation, and strategic thinking that deliver for nature and people. We accelerate city afforestation to sequester carbon, generate urban biodiversity, and protect cities from extreme heat – a growing threat to human survival. Beyond urban environments, we work at all scales: global, regional, local, and human, to strengthen, protect and enhance the wider functional ecosystems. We amplify biodiversity and societal prosperity, fostering resilient communities better prepared for a changing climate. Landscape architects connect people to nature and to each other to fulfil our deepest human needs.
IFLA is issuing a Call to Action
Society needs new approaches to decision-making, progressive policies, and a universal commitment to innovative ideas. In support of sovereign governments accelerating their Nationally Determined Contributions we call on our peers and allied professions to help strengthen our actions through interdisciplinary collaboration. With sustained private and public sectors investment in transformative landscape projects, we can achieve the scale of renewal and restoration required.
Society needs new approaches to decision-making, progressive policies, and a universal commitment to innovative ideas. In support of sovereign governments accelerating their Nationally Determined Contributions we call on our peers and allied professions to help strengthen our actions through interdisciplinary collaboration. With sustained private and public sectors investment in transformative landscape projects, we can achieve the scale of renewal and restoration required.
As a global profession, we commit to:
