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Steven J. McCormick is the president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy. Since becoming president in 2001, he has transformed the Conservancy into the world’s largest environmental organization with operations in all 50 states and more than 30 countries. He also sits on several boards, including the Harvard Dialogue Group Advisory Panel and the Advisory Board of the U.C. Berkeley College of Natural Resources. We Want to Hear from You Tell us what you think about our climate change work. What national or international policies should be implemented to fight climate change?

Statement from Steven J. McCormick, President and CEO, The Nature Conservancy:  

We are heartened by the G-8 leaders' inclusion of a Forest Carbon Partnership into their statement at the Forum on Climate Change.  

Despite being the second leading contributor to carbon emissions, deforestation had not previously been addressed in international climate treaties, and countries had few incentives for preserving their forests. 

 As an organization long focused on market-oriented approaches to forest conservation, The Nature Conservancy was a key player in the discussions to include this issue as part of a comprehensive climate change strategy that addresses all major sources of carbon emissions. 

The decision made today by the world's most powerful countries to fund this initiative will have an immediate impact in the fight against global warming.

The Next Necessary Steps

But more must be done. The United States should have been advocating for a binding commitment among G-8 nations to significantly reduce emissions immediately and over the coming decades. 

We also need a flexible framework that incorporates the actions of developing countries, with additional meaningful incentives to encourage the preservation and restoration of forests. We should push for global emissions trading under cap-and-trade systems, and we need aggressive targeted measures that boost energy efficiency at home.
 
The climate crisis is but one example of a deeply troubling fact: global environmental degradation threatens not just our lands and waters but also our health and well-being, and our economic prosperity. 

This crisis calls for innovative solutions, difficult decisions, and bold leadership, both from G-8 leaders and from every one of us. Anything less puts future generations at risk.

Steven J. McCormick
President and CEO
The Nature Conservancy

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Mark Godfrey/TNC (logs from deforestation); Photo © Mark Godfrey/TNC (Steve McCormick, president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy).