This year, 2021, needs to be a pivotal moment in history – the year that a transformative and radical change occurs to tackle the twin crises of the climate emergency and loss of biodiversity in a socially just way.

Dialogue at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (Biodiversity COP15) and the 26th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change (Climate COP26) must not happen in isolation; they must be integrated with each other because the two crises are linked.

In September 2019, CIEEM – as the professional membership body for ecologists and environmental managers across the UK and Ireland – declared a climate emergency and biodiversity crisis. We declared that the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis are inextricably linked, cannot be addressed in isolation, and require urgent and immediate action. We support all those who have acknowledged that ambitious and urgent action is required to address the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis in a socially just way.

It is vital, as never before, that the work of CIEEM, its members and our profession continue to be at the forefront of targeted action. This statement sets out our position on how the two COPs must work together to achieve transformative change.