Advancing Novel Natural Climate Solutions

In 2010, Oswald Schmitz, Oastler Professor of Population and Community Ecology, developed the Animating the Carbon Cycle (ACC) concept, which maintains that healthy populations of wild animals, both terrestrial and marine, can play a significant role in boosting the ability of ecosystems to store carbon, helping the planet stay within 1.5°C (2.7°F) of temperature rise over pre-industrial levels. Interest in ACC as a natural climate solution has continued to grow in the scientific and policy communities, and it was included in the Action Plan for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, 2021-2030.