GINGR at COP30: Turning global energy goals into Nature- and People-Positive action
- GINGR – Global Initiative for Nature, Grids and Renewables
- Nov 3, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 15, 2025
As the world gathered in Belém for COP30, attention turned to how the global goal to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 can be achieved in ways that deliver genuine benefits for both nature and people.
Fresh from a successful series of GINGR events at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, where ministers, financiers and experts examined how renewable energy expansion can align with protecting 30 per cent of nature by 2030, GINGR returned to the international stage with renewed momentum. Discussions in Abu Dhabi reinforced the need for biodiversity safeguards, community benefits and transparent metrics to guide the rapid build-out of renewable energy systems worldwide.
Building on this and on insights from its well-attended sessions at COP29 in Baku, GINGR advanced the conversation at COP30 through the introduction of two new white papers: Powering a Nature-Positive Future, which sets out system-level governance and planning reforms, and Integrating Nature into Offshore Wind, which provides practical guidance for embedding nature considerations across the offshore wind lifecycle.
Together, this work reflects GINGR’s science-based approach to helping decision makers understand how wind, solar and grid infrastructure can support biodiversity recovery, social equity and community resilience while advancing global climate goals. The emphasis is on measuring success not only in gigawatts, but in healthier ecosystems and stronger communities, and on translating ambition into accountable, Nature- and People-Positive action.
COP30 Side Event
Renewable at the Heart of Nature- and People-Positive Climate Adaptation
📍Side Event Room 5, Blue Zone
📅 Wednesday, 12 November 2025
🕟 16:45 – 18:15
This COP30 side event underscored a shared message: renewable energy is now indispensable for climate adaptation, offering countries a direct route to protecting both people and ecosystems.
With IUCN and RGI involved in the session, the presence of GINGR was woven naturally into the discussion, including the introduction of GINGR’s white paper Powering a Nature-Positive Future. Speakers reflected on how adaptation and resilience depend on putting communities and nature at the centre of energy planning, and stressed that scaling renewables must protect, rather than undermine, the ecosystems and livelihoods that resilience ultimately relies on.
Speakers
Qiulin Liu, Programme Officer – Climate Change & Energy Transition, IUCN
Mariam Allam, Co-Chair of Adaptation Committee, UNFCCC
Pooja Dave, Policy Coordinator – Adaptation, CAN International
Dr. Wafa Misrar, Campaigns & Policy Lead, CAN Africa
Friday Phiri, Climate Change Health Advocacy Lead, AMREF Health Africa
Joseph Nganga, CEO of the Africa Climate & Energy Nexus
Marjorie Kauffmann, State Secretary for Environment and Infrastructure of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and Vice President of ICLEI
Rana Adib, Executive Director, REN21 (Moderator)
Participants highlighted the importance of placing communities and nature at the heart of project design. Renewable deployment that restores ecosystems, supports local livelihoods and anticipates climate risks was presented as the surest path to long-term resilience. Examples such as solar irrigation and resilient mini grids illustrated how well-designed systems can produce genuine Nature- and People-Positive outcomes.
Throughout the discussion, speakers called for stronger data, modern tools and systems thinking to unlock investment and guide smarter decisions. The message was clear: scaling renewable energy for adaptation is both urgent and achievable, and it offers countries a direct route to building resilience that benefits people and nature together.
COP30 Side Event Advancing Offshore Metrics for a Nature- and People-Positive Transition
📍Ocean Pavilion, Blue Zone
📅 Thursday, 13 November 2025
🕟 09:00 – 10:00
This side event in the Ocean Pavilion examined how rapidly expanding offshore wind and marine grid systems can support global climate goals without deepening pressures on marine ecosystems or coastal and island communities. The event also marked the launch of GINGR’s white paper Integrating Nature into Offshore Wind, and explored practical ways to embed ecological integrity, social equity and long-term resilience into offshore energy development.
Speakers emphasised that accelerating renewables cannot happen in isolation from nature or people. Effective offshore deployment requires a clear view of the entire seascape, with accountability grounded in evidence rather than assumptions. Participants highlighted the need to avoid solving one challenge while creating another, and noted that hope and trust in the transition depend on showing how decisions consider impacts across the whole marine ecosystem.
Speakers
Shamini Selvaratnam, Director, International Climate and Clean Energy, Ocean Conservancy
Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, Global Leader of Climate & Energy at WWF, Chair of IUCN Climate Action Commission, Member of GINGR International Advisory Board
Zhang Shining, Research at Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization
Gavin Edwards, Executive Director, Nature Positive Initiative
Qiulin Liu, Programme Officer – Climate Change & Energy Transition, IUCN (Moderator)
A central theme was the importance of shared, consistent metrics that reflect global climate and biodiversity frameworks. Participants stressed that mitigation and adaptation must be considered together, and that credible indicators are essential for steering investment, strengthening regulation and improving project design. The discussion underlined growing recognition that offshore renewables can contribute to biodiversity recovery and community resilience when guided by robust monitoring, transparent data and early engagement with those who depend on the ocean.
The session also explored how our metrics toolbox feeds directly into the evolution of the GINGR Framework. Current efforts to shape practical offshore indicators are helping define how the Framework can support governments, financiers and developers across both land and sea. By clarifying what Nature- and People-Positive outcomes look like in marine settings, the offshore metrics work is laying the groundwork for a coherent approach that integrates renewable energy planning, biodiversity safeguards and community wellbeing across GINGR’s wider programme.
Why COP30 Matters for GINGR
For GINGR, COP30 marked a clear shift from discussion to delivery. With biodiversity loss and energy poverty among the defining challenges of our time, the need for practical guidance on how grids and renewables can contribute to Nature- and People-Positive outcomes has never been more pressing.
This is why COP30 was also a milestone for GINGR’s knowledge agenda, with the introduction of two new white papers, Powering a Nature-Positive Future and Integrating Nature into Offshore Wind, to help decision makers translate ambition into governance, planning and project-level action.
Across both side events and in conversations throughout Belém, the message was consistent. Grids and renewables must be planned and managed in ways that restore ecosystems, strengthen resilience and support communities. Installed capacity and emissions reductions will always matter, but the true measure of the energy transition will lie in the visible benefits it creates for people and nature.