On October 10, the International Union for Conservation of Nature adopted a resolution to mobilize the role of wild animals in ecosystems as a climate solution. 

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By Silvia Mantilla

I have always loved learning fun facts about animals, but one in particular caught my attention: forests with elephants in the Congo Basin store around 7% more carbon than those without these giants.

I quickly realized it wasn’t just me who found this interesting. When delegates at climate conferences hear that sea otters can increase carbon capture in kelp forests by up to 12 times, or that birds, monkeys, and many other seed-dispersing animals help tropical forests absorb four times more carbon, the conversation shifts. They want to know more and wonder why they have not heard about this before. 

It is no surprise. We have long overlooked our climate allies. Through the way they move, eat, and release waste, wild animals help forests grow stronger, prevent wildfires and erosion, and fertilize phytoplankton, the lungs of the ocean. 

This isn’t particularly new. In fact, the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment report already stated with high confidence that the loss of local species reduces ecosystems’ ability to provide services and lowers their resilience to climate change. 

Over the past few years, a growing body of evidence has shown how much carbon animals help lock away, and the many ways they act as allies in the fight against climate change. In forests with thriving tiger populations, for example, carbon storage is significantly higher than in those without. By keeping herbivore numbers in check, tigers prevent overgrazing, allowing trees and vegetation to regenerate and sequester more carbon. And penguins… Well, their poop, research has found, releases gases that help form clouds, keeping Antarctica cool. 

Thanks to scientists quantifying the contribution of these roles, policymakers are beginning to take notice and agree that protecting wildlife also means protecting the climate. As global mitigation efforts stall, many are realizing that the more allies we can enlist, the better.

Policy Momentum Is Building

In recent years, governments at global policy forums have begun to acknowledge that we can no longer afford to overlook the importance of thriving wild animals, if not for their sake, then for the sake of successful climate policy.

Last year, the 16th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity, better known as COP16, took a step in the right direction. In the decision on biodiversity and climate change, delegates emphasized that conserving and restoring animal populations are effective solutions for climate mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk reduction. The decision further called on countries to prioritize the protection of species important for the carbon cycle and climate adaptation. 

This decision was built on earlier resolutions by other environmental bodies and conventions. In 2016, the International Whaling Commission acknowledged that cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) make significant contributions to ecosystem functioning, benefiting both nature and people. In 2021, the Convention on Migratory Species urged governments to integrate migratory species into climate and biodiversity strategies.

Fast forward to 10 October 2025, when the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), at this month’s World Conservation Congress, adopted a resolution to mobilize the role of wild animals in ecosystems as a climate solution. 

Recalling Article 5 of the Paris Agreement, which asks parties to conserve and enhance sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases, the resolution calls on the IUCN Director General to advocate for the recognition of the role of wild animals in climate mitigation and adaptation in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC. It also urges IUCN’s government members to protect, conserve, and restore wild animal populations to enhance nature-based solutions, and to promote policy coherence between the Rio Conventions by integrating wild animals’ role in climate mitigation into relevant decisions.

This resolution is a step that moves us forward.  

It helps continue a part of the climate conversation we rarely discuss: how the planet removes carbon. To reach net zero, what we emit must be balanced by what nature absorbs. With parts of once-reliable sinks now releasing more carbon than they store, greater attention to Article 5 of the Paris Agreement is overdue. 

Greater awareness of the climate-regulating services provided by ecosystems, including wild animals, helps us clarify how nature’s carbon capture often outweighs the contribution of carbon capture technologies. As my colleague Ed Goodall, climate policy specialist, recently said: “We often act as if humanity alone can engineer carbon sinks, but life has been quietly doing this work for literally hundreds of millions of years. It’s time we collaborate with complexity, not override it with machines.”

Finally, its implementation will bring a much-needed perspective to ongoing discussions about synergies between the Rio Conventions. Efforts to mitigate climate change need to go hand in hand with actions to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and address desertification. Many governments agree. With this need to better cooperate likely to come up at COP30, efforts to showcase how thriving wild animals can deliver multiple environmental gains are very timely.

Featured image: Adam Oswellv/ We Animals

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About the author: Silvia Mantilla, Global Policy & Communications Manager at the World Federation for Animals. Within this role, she bridges WFA’s advocacy and visibility, overseeing its engagement at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and leading the organisation’s strategic communications and outreach. Prior to joining WFA, she spent more than twelve years with United Nations agencies and programmes, spearheading communications and partnerships that delivered high-impact campaigns on sustainable development across three continents. A political scientist by education, Silvia graduated from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia before pursuing her postgraduate studies at the Università Iuav di Venezia in Italy.

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