The High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for People and Nature, with over 85 member countries [1], is calling for a 30 x 30 target: a global endeavor by governments to safeguard 30% of the land and ocean areas by 2030 [2]. The initiative comes with growing scientific evidence that large sections of the earth must be conserved in a natural state to address both the biodiversity and climate crises [3,4,5].