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	The 2024 state of the climate report: Perilous times on planet Earth by world leading climate scientists, agencies BioScience, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, agencies   30 Oct. 2024   Health threats of climate change reach record-breaking levels, report leading researchers from University College London (UCL) in the latest Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change.   The 2024 Report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change reveals that people in every country face record-breaking threats to health and survival from the rapidly changing climate, with 10 of 15 indicators tracking health threats reaching concerning new levels.   Publishing annually in The Lancet, with strategic and financial support from the Wellcome Trust, The Lancet Countdown is hosted by UCL and works with almost 300 leading researchers from around the world to track and understand the evolving links between climate change and people’s health.   Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown, Dr Marina Romanello said: “This year’s stocktake of the imminent health threats of climate inaction reveals the most concerning findings yet in our eight years of monitoring.   “Once again, last year broke climate change records – with extreme heat waves, deadly weather events, and devastating wildfires affecting people around the world.   “No individual or economy on the planet is immune from the health threats of climate change. The relentless expansion of fossil fuels and record-breaking greenhouse gas emissions compounds these dangerous health impacts and is threatening to reverse the limited progress made so far and put a healthy future further out of reach.”   As a result, experts are calling for trillions of dollars spent on fossil fuels to be redirected towards protecting people’s health, lives and livelihoods.   Dr Romanello said: “Despite this threat, we see financial resources continue to be invested in the very things that undermine our health.   “Repurposing the trillions of dollars being invested in, or subsidising, the fossil fuel industry every year would provide the opportunity to deliver a fair, equitable transition to clean energy and energy efficiency, and a healthier future, ultimately benefiting the global economy.”   Key findings from the report include:   In 2023, people were exposed to, on average, an unprecedented 50 more days of health-threatening temperatures than expected without climate change. Extreme drought affected 48% of the global land area – the second highest level recorded – and the higher frequency of heatwaves and droughts was associated with 151 million more people experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity than annually between 1981 and 2010.   Governments and companies are “fuelling the fire” with persistent investment in fossil fuels, all-time high energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, and years of delays in adaptation that are narrowing the survival chances of people across the globe.   The financial resources to deliver net zero and secure a healthy future are available. Yet governments and companies are spending trillions of dollars on fossil fuel subsidies and investments that are making climate change worse – money that could be redirected towards clean renewable energy and activities that benefits people’s health, livelihood and wellbeing.   Amidst these concerning findings, the report highlights new opportunities to put health at the centre of the world’s response to climate change, including at the upcoming ‘finance COP’ in Azerbaijan. The Lancet Countdown report contributes to the evidence needed to inform the negotiations and deliver truly health-protecting climate change action.   Co-Chair of the Lancet Countdown Professor Anthony Costello said: “Progress towards an equitable and healthy future requires a global transformation of financial systems, shifting resources away from the fossil-fuel based economy towards a zero-emissions future.   “For successful reform, people’s health must be put front and centre of climate change policy to ensure the funding mechanisms protect wellbeing, reduce health inequities and maximise health gains, especially for the countries and communities that need it most.”   The report notes that the engagement of individuals, corporations, scientists, and international organisations with climate change and health is growing, raising hopes that a healthy, prosperous future could still be within reach.   Responding to the report publication, UN Secretary-General, António Guterres said: “Record-high emissions are posing record-breaking threats to our health. We must cure the sickness of climate inaction – by slashing emissions, protecting people from climate extremes, and ending our fossil fuel addiction – to create a fairer, safer, and healthier future for all.”   http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2024/oct/health-threats-climate-change-reach-record-breaking-levels http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01822-1/abstract   Oct. 2024   The 2024 state of the climate report: Perilous times on planet Earth, report from world leading climate scientists.   We are on the brink of an irreversible climate disaster. This is a global emergency beyond any doubt. Much of the very fabric of life on Earth is imperiled. We are stepping into a critical and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis.   For many years, scientists, including a group of more than 15,000, have sounded the alarm about the impending dangers of climate change driven by increasing greenhouse gas emissions and ecosystem change. For half a century, global warming has been correctly predicted even before it was observed—and not only by independent academic scientists but also by fossil fuel companies.   Despite these warnings, we are still moving in the wrong direction; fossil fuel emissions have increased to an all-time high, the 3 hottest days ever occurred in July of 2024 (Guterres 2024), and current policies have us on track for at least 2.7 degrees Celsius (°C) peak warming by 2100 (UNEP 2023).   Tragically, we are failing to avoid serious impacts, and we can now only hope to limit the extent of the damage. We are witnessing the grim reality of the forecasts as climate impacts escalate, bringing forth scenes of unprecedented disasters around the world and human and nonhuman suffering.   We find ourselves amid an abrupt climate upheaval, a dire situation never before encountered in the annals of human existence. We have now brought the planet into climatic conditions never witnessed by us or our prehistoric relatives.   Last year, we witnessed record-breaking sea surface temperatures, the hottest Northern Hemisphere extratropical summer in 2000 years, and the breaking of many other climate records. Moreover, we will see much more extreme weather in the coming years. Human-caused carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases are the primary drivers of climate change.   As of 2022, global fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes account for approximately 90% of these emissions, whereas land-use change, primarily deforestation, accounts for approximately 10%.   Our aim in the present article is to communicate directly to researchers, policymakers, and the public. As scientists and academics, we feel it is our moral duty and that of our institutions to alert humanity to the growing threats that we face as clearly as possible and to show leadership in addressing them.   In this report, we analyze the latest trends in a wide array of planetary vital signs. We also review notable recent climate-related disasters, spotlight important climate-related topics, and discuss needed policy interventions. This report is part of our series of concise annual updates on the state of the climate.   Recent trends in planetary vital signs   In 2023, various historical temperature and ice extent records were broken by enormous margins. Both global and North Atlantic sea surface temperatures were far above their 1991–2024 averages for much of the year—a pattern that has continued well into 2024. Although Antarctic and global sea ice extent have now come into range of previous years, they remain well below their 1993–2024 averages. Global daily mean temperatures were at record levels for nearly half of 2023 and much of 2024. On our current emissions trajectory, we may regularly surpass current temperature records in future years.   Of the 35 planetary vital signs we track annually, 25 are at record levels. The global failure to support a rapid and socially just fossil fuel phasedown has led to rapidly escalating climate-related impacts.   Climate-related extreme weather and disasters are contributing greatly to human suffering. Increasing heat and rainfall extremes are now far outside the historical climate. The rapid increase in average global temperatures has led to a massive rise in the incidence of heat extremes. This is linked to many adverse human outcomes, including direct mortality, increased healthcare costs, mental health issues, and deaths from cardiorespiratory diseases. Climate change has already contributed to billions of people facing extreme heat.   Because the Earth system is strongly nonlinear, extreme weather and disaster rates can increase dramatically in response to global warming, including impacts on plant and animal life..   Despite six IPCC reports, 28 COP meetings, hundreds of other reports, and tens of thousands of scientific papers, the world has made only very minor headway on climate change, in part because of stiff resistance from those benefiting financially from the current fossil-fuel based system.   We are currently going in the wrong direction, and our increasing fossil fuel consumption and rising greenhouse gas emissions are driving us toward a climate catastrophe. We fear the danger of climate breakdown. The evidence we observe is both alarming and undeniable, but it is this very shock that drives us to action. We recognize the profound urgency of addressing this global challenge, especially the horrific outlook for the world's poor.   Our goal is to provide clear, evidence-based insights that inspire informed and bold responses from citizens to researchers and world leaders.   The surge in yearly climate disasters shows we are in a major crisis with worse to come if we continue with business as usual. Today, more than ever, our actions matter for the stable climate system that has supported us for thousands of years. Humanity's future depends on our creativity, moral fiber, and perseverance.   We must urgently reduce ecological overshoot and pursue immediate large-scale climate change mitigation and adaptation to limit near-term damage. Only through decisive action can we safeguard the natural world, avert profound human suffering, and ensure that future generations inherit the livable world they deserve. The future of humanity hangs in the balance.   * Authors: William Ripple, Christopher Wolf, Jillian Gregg, Johan Rockstrom, Michael Mann, Naomi Oreskes, Timothy Lenton, Stefan Rahmstorf, Thomas Newsome, Chi Xu, Jens-Christian Svenning, Cassio Cardoso Pereira, Beverly Law and Thomas Crowther.   http://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biae087/7808595 http://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/latest-news/25-of-35-planetary-vital-signs-at-record-extremes-2024-state-of-the-climate-report Visit the related web page
	Catastrophic 73% decline in the size of wildlife populations in just 50 years by WWF’s Living Planet Report, agencies   25 Feb. 2025   Addressing the urgency of the biodiversity crisis. (AFP)   Global talks to protect nature restarted Tuesday with a call for humanity to come together to "sustain life on the planet" and overcome a fight over funding that caused a previous meeting in November to end in disarray.   More than two years after a landmark deal on nature – including a pledge to protect 30 percent of the world's land and seas by 2030 – nations are still haggling over the money needed to reverse destruction that scientists say threatens a million species.   Negotiators meeting at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization headquarters in Rome this week are tasked with resolving the deadlock between rich and developing countries over whether or not to create a specific fund to finance nature conservation.   Disagreement over this saw the previous UN COP16 talks in Cali, Colombia, in November stretch into extra time and then end without agreement.   Speaking at the opening of the talks in Rome, many developing nations urged the meeting to unblock funds and called on wealthy countries to make good on their pledge to provide $20 billion a year for poorer nations by 2025.   "Without this, trust might be broken," Panama's representative said, urging the international community to ensure that overall financing beyond 2030 reflects the "urgency of the biodiversity crisis".   "This is a matter of survival for ecosystems, economy and humanity. We cannot repeat the failures of climate finance, COP16.2 must deliver more than words, it must deliver funding. The world is out of time."   COP16 President Susana Muhamad urged countries to work together "in a collaborative manner for something that probably is the most important purpose of humanity in the 21st century, which is our collective capacity to sustain life in this planet". Protecting nature "has the power to unite the world", the Colombian environment minister added.   Countries have until Thursday to hammer out a finance plan for nature by 2030, including $30 billion a year from wealthier countries to poorer ones. The total for 2022 was about $15 billion, according to the OECD.   Developing nations – led by Brazil and the African group – want the creation of a new, dedicated biodiversity fund, saying they are not adequately represented in existing mechanisms. Wealthy nations – led by the European Union, Japan and Canada – say setting up multiple funds fragments aid efforts.   The COP16 presidency on Friday published a new text that proposed delaying the ultimate decision on a new biodiversity fund to future UN talks while suggesting reforming existing financing for nature conservation.   In 2022, nations identified 23 goals to be achieved within the decade, aiming to protect the planet and its living creatures from deforestation, over-exploitation of resources, climate change, pollution and invasive species.   The true cost of such destruction of nature is often hidden or ignored, scientists warned last year in a landmark report for the UN's expert biodiversity panel.   They estimated that fossil fuels, farming and fisheries could inflict up to $25 trillion a year in accounted costs – equivalent to a quarter of global GDP.   The failure to reach agreement in Cali was the first in a string of disappointing outcomes for the planet at UN summits last year. A climate finance deal at COP29 in Azerbaijan in November was slammed as disappointing by developing nations, while separate negotiations about desertification and plastic pollutions stalled in December.   http://www.cbd.int/article/cop16-resumed-session-closing-2025 http://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/cop16-biodiversity-summit-in-rome-oks-finance-pathway-big-obstacles-loom/ http://www.ipsnews.net/2025/02/cop16-agrees-to-raise-funds-to-protect-biodiversity/ http://www.carbonbrief.org/cop16-key-outcomes-agreed-at-the-resumed-un-biodiversity-conference-in-rome/ http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/press_releases/?13566466/COP162-Rome http://www.carbonbrief.org/revealed-more-than-half-of-nations-fail-to-protect-30-of-land-and-sea-in-un-nature-plans/ http://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/news/the-cali-fund-unlocking-industry-contributions-to-finance-biodiversity-conservation/   Dec. 2024   IPBES: Tackle Together Five Interlinked Global Crises in Biodiversity, Water, Food, Health and Climate Change.   Environmental, social and economic crises – such as biodiversity loss, water and food insecurity, health risks and climate change – are all interconnected. They interact, cascade and compound each other in ways that make separate efforts to address them ineffective and counterproductive.   Underlines the landmark new report launched by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The Assessment Report on the Interlinkages among Biodiversity, Water, Food and Health – known as the Nexus Report - offers decision-makers around the world the most ambitious scientific assessment ever undertaken of these complex interconnections and explores more than five dozen specific response options to maximize co-benefits across five ‘nexus elements’: biodiversity, water, food, health and climate change.   The report is the product of three years of work by 165 leading international experts from 57 countries from all regions of the world. It finds that existing actions to address these challenges fail to tackle the complexity of interlinked problems and result in inconsistent governance.   “We have to move decisions and actions beyond single-issue silos to better manage, govern and improve the impact of actions in one nexus element on other elements,” said Prof. Paula Harrison (United Kingdom), co-chair of the Assessment with Prof. Pamela McElwee (USA).   “Take for example the health challenge of schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzia) – a parasitic disease that can cause life-long ill health and which affects more than 200 million people worldwide – especially in Africa.   Treated only as a health challenge – usually through medication – the problem often recurs as people are reinfected. An innovative project in rural Senegal took a different approach – reducing water pollution and removing invasive water plants to reduce the habitat for the snails that host the parasitic worms that carry the disease – resulting in a 32% reduction in infections in children, improved access to freshwater and new revenue for the local communities.”   “The best way to bridge single issue silos is through integrated and adaptive decision-making. ‘Nexus approaches’ offer policies and actions that are more coherent and coordinated – moving us towards the transformative change needed to meet our development and sustainability goals,” said Prof. McElwee.   The report states that biodiversity – the richness and variety of all life on Earth – is declining at every level from global to local, and across every region. These ongoing declines in nature, largely as a result of human activity, including climate change, have direct and dire impacts on food security and nutrition, water quality and availability, health and wellbeing outcomes, resilience to climate change and almost all of nature’s other contributions to people.   Building on previous IPBES reports, in particular the 2022 Values Assessment Report and the 2019 Global Assessment Report, which identified the most important direct drivers of biodiversity loss, including land- and sea-use change, unsustainable exploitation, invasive alien species and pollution, the Nexus Report further underscores how indirect socioeconomic drivers, such as increasing waste, overconsumption and population growth, intensify the direct drivers – worsening impacts on all parts of the nexus. The majority of 12 assessed indicators across these indirect drivers – such as GDP, population levels and overall food supply, have all increased or accelerated since 2001.   “Efforts of Governments and other stakeholders have often failed to take into account indirect drivers and their impact on interactions between nexus elements because they remain fragmented, with many institutions working in isolation – often resulting in conflicting objectives, inefficiencies and negative incentives, leading to unintended consequences,” said Prof. Harrison.   The report highlights that more than half of global gross domestic product – more than $50 trillion of annual economic activity around the world – is moderately to highly dependent on nature. “But current decision-making has prioritized short-term financial returns while ignoring costs to nature, and failed to hold actors to account for negative economic pressures on the natural world. It is estimated that the unaccounted-for costs of current approaches to economic activity – reflecting impacts on biodiversity, water, health and climate change, including from food production – are at least $10-25 trillion per year,” said Prof. McElwee.   The existence of such unaccounted-for costs, alongside direct public subsidies to economic activities that have negative impacts on biodiversity (approximately $1.7 trillion per year), enhances private financial incentives to invest in economic activities that cause direct damage to nature (approximately $5.3 trillion per year), in spite of growing evidence of biophysical risks to economic progress and financial stability.   Delaying the action needed to meet policy goals will also increase the costs of delivering it. Delayed action on biodiversity goals, for example, could as much as double costs – also increasing the probability of irreplaceable losses such as species extinctions. Delayed action on climate change adds at least $500 billion per year in additional costs for meeting policy targets.   “Another key message from the report is that the increasingly negative effects of intertwined global crises have very unequal impacts, disproportionately affecting some more than others,” said Prof. Harrison.   More than half of the world’s population is living in areas experiencing the highest impacts from declines in biodiversity, water availability and quality and food security, and increases in health risks and negative effects of climate change. These burdens especially affect developing countries, including small island developing states, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, as well as those in vulnerable situations in higher-income countries. 41% of people live in areas that saw extremely strong declines in biodiversity between 2000 and 2010, 9% in areas that have experienced very high health burdens and 5% in areas with high levels of malnutrition.   Some efforts – such as research and innovation, education and environmental regulations – have been partially successful in improving trends across nexus elements, but the report finds these are unlikely to succeed without addressing interlinkages more fully and tackling indirect drivers like trade and consumption. Decision-making that is more inclusive, with a particular focus on equity, can help ensure those most affected are included in solutions, in addition to larger economic and financial reforms.   If current “business as usual” trends in direct and indirect drivers of change continue, the outcomes will be extremely poor for biodiversity, water quality and human health – with worsening climate change and increasing challenges to meet global policy goals.   A focus on trying to maximize the outcomes for only one part of the nexus in isolation will likely result in negative outcomes for the other nexus elements.   For example, a ‘food first’ approach prioritizes food production with positive benefits on nutritional health, arising from unsustainable intensification of production and increased per capita consumption. This has negative impacts on biodiversity, water and climate change.   An exclusive focus on climate change can result in negative outcomes for biodiversity and food, reflecting competition for land. Weak environmental regulation, made worse by delays, results in worsening impacts for biodiversity, food, human health and climate change.   “Future scenarios do exist that have positive outcomes for people and nature by providing co- benefits across the nexus elements,” said Prof Harrison. “The future scenarios with the widest nexus benefits are those with actions that focus on sustainable production and consumption in combination with conserving and restoring ecosystems, reducing pollution, and mitigating and adapting to climate change.”   http://www.ipbes.net/nexus/media-release http://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/latest-news/ipbes-nexus-report-integrated-solutions-to-address-interconnected-global-crises http://www.carbonbrief.org/ipbes-nexus-report-five-takeaways-for-biodiversity-food-water-health-and-climate/ http://www.iied.org/new-biodiversity-reports-wake-call-for-action http://www.ipbes.net/transformative-change/media-release http://ipbes.canto.de/v/IPBES11Media http://www.ids.ac.uk/news/new-global-report-on-transformative-change-for-biodiversity/ http://www.ipsnews.net/2024/12/transformative-change-will-save-a-planet-in-peril-ipbes/   Nov. 2024   Alarm grows over ‘disturbing’ lack of progress to save nature at Cop16, reports Patrick Greenfield for Guardian News.   Governments risk another decade of failure on biodiversity loss, due to the slow implementation of an international agreement to halt the destruction of Earth’s ecosystems, experts have warned.   Less than two years ago, the world reached a historic agreement at the Cop15 summit in Montreal to stop the human-caused destruction of life on our planet. The deal included targets to protect 30% of the planet for nature by the end of the decade (30x30), reform $500bn (then £410bn) of environmentally damaging subsidies, and begin restoring 30% of the planet’s degraded ecosystems.   But as country representatives dig into their second week of negotiations at Cop16 in Cali, Colombia – their first meeting since Montreal – alarm is growing at the lack of concrete progress on any of the major targets they agreed upon. An increasing number of indicators show that governments are not on track.   They still need to protect an area of land equivalent to the combined size of Brazil and Australia, and an expanse of sea larger than the Indian Ocean to meet the headline 30x30 target, according to a new UN report.   Weak progress on funding for nature and almost no progress on subsidy reform have also frustrated observers. At the time of publication, 158 countries are yet to submit formal plans on how they are going to meet the targets, according to Carbon Brief, missing their deadline this month ahead of the biodiversity summit in Cali, where governments are not likely to set a new deadline.   “Progress has been too slow. I think political prioritisation of nature is still too low. This is reflected by progress on the targets. Several target are very easy to measure: 30x30 has metrics on area and quality, finance has a dollar figure. We have new data on both that show we’re not on pace,” said Brian O’Donnell, director of the Campaign for Nature.   “This is a moment to demonstrate seriousness and build trust. On finance especially, it’s been disturbing at times to go to parties to ask for their path forward for finance and be treated as if we are asking for something new or unrealistic, as opposed to what they just agreed two years ago. To me, that is a reflection of not a true commitment to this,” he said.   The world has never met a target to stem the destruction of wildlife and life-sustaining ecosystems. Amid growing scientific warnings about the state of life on Earth, there has been a major push to make sure this decade is different, and that governments comply with targets designed to prevent wildlife extinctions, such as cuts to pesticides use and pollution.   Leading figures in conservation and science have raised concerns about the progress governments are making towards the targets in Cali. Martin Harper, CEO of Birdlife International, said meaningful action on commitments was vital.   “We cannot accept inaction as the new normal. This means more action to bolster efforts to recover threatened species, to protect and restore more land, fresh water and sea, and to transform our food, energy and industrial systems. We have five years to raise hundreds of billions of dollars. If we don’t see it materialise, I dread to think where we will be in 2030,” he said.   Scientists at the nature summit in Cali said that the political pace was not matching the scale of the challenge. Nathalie Seddon, professor of biodiversity at University of Oxford, said much more was needed by the end of the decade.   “The biodiversity goals’ 2030 deadline exists for a reason: biodiverse, resilient ecosystems are the foundation of our economies and wellbeing. A bad outcome here isn’t just bad news for wildlife; it undermines food security, water quality, disaster resilience and economic stability. It worsens climate impacts of record-breaking heat, wildfires, floods and droughts,” she said.   Yadvinder Malhi, a professor of ecosystem science at the University of Oxford, said: “The very limited progress we’ve seen so far in the negotiations at Cop16 is insufficient to address the very real implications of getting this wrong. Biodiversity is continuing to decline at an alarming rate. I really hope that the crunch discussions this week yield those commitments, for the sake of a flourishing future for people and for our planet.”   http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/03/cop16-ends-in-disarry-and-indecision-despite-biodiversity-breakthroughs http://www.france24.com/en/environment/20241102-cop16-ends-no-agreement-funding-roadmpa-increase-protect-species http://carnegieendowment.org/emissary/2024/11/cop16-un-biodiversity-cbd-cop29-trump-climate-grim/ http://www.globalwitness.org/en/blog/era-human-extinction-hope-and-frustration-cop16-nature-crisis-summit/ http://www.carbonbrief.org/cop16-key-outcomes-agreed-at-the-un-biodiversity-conference-in-cali-colombia/   http://www.ipbes.net/transformative-change/media-release http://www.ipbes.net/nexus/media-release http://ipbes.canto.de/v/IPBES11Media http://www.carbonbrief.org/ipbes-nexus-report-five-takeaways-for-biodiversity-food-water-health-and-climate/ http://www.ipsnews.net/2024/12/transformative-change-will-save-a-planet-in-peril-ipbes http://www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/resources/updates/human-rights-biodiversity-and-the-role-of-geneva/   http://350.org/press-release/amazon-indigenous-organizations-from-nine-countries-launch-alliance/ http://www.wri.org/insights/cop16-biodiversity-summit-outcomes-next-steps http://climatenetwork.org/2024/11/05/climate-action-network-welcomes-decisions-on-climate-biodiversity-alignment-and-indigenous-rights-but-cop16-falls-short-on-biodiversity-funding http://www.theideasletter.org/essay/the-equity-trap/   Oct. 2024   We must restore nature to avoid global catastrophe, warns biodiversity summit president.   Humanity risks catastrophic global heating if it focuses only on decarbonisation at the expense of restoring the natural world, Colombia’s environment minister said in the lead-up to the world’s key nature summit.   Susana Muhamad, who will be president of the UN biodiversity Cop16 summit in Cali in October, said that a singular focus on cutting carbon emissions while failing to restore and protect natural ecosystems would be “dangerous for humanity” and risk societal collapse.   Muhamad said a main focus would be to raise political awareness for the natural world to keep humanity in safe planetary limits.   “At the same time as we are not decarbonizing, the climate will continue changing, and nature will not have the time to adapt,” Muhamad said. “And if nature collapses, communities and people will also collapse, and society will collapse.”   “There is a double movement humanity must make. The first one is to decarbonise and have a just energy transition,” Muhamad said. “The other side of the coin is to restore nature and allow nature to take again its power over planet Earth so that we can really stabilise the climate.   “The climate has much more awareness and political investment, but we are not seeing the other side of the coin, and it’s dangerous. That is dangerous for humanity. One of the main purposes for Cop16 in Cali is to make biodiversity and the global biodiversity framework as politically relevant as the climate agenda,” she added.   Muhamad urged developed country governments to make good on their commitments to increase funding for nature restoration, adding that Cop16 would also focus on mobilising finance from the private sector who bear a responsibilty for their outsized influence on the biodiversity crisis.   She called for countries to “actually put their money in the global biodiversity fund that was approved in Montreal" [at Cop15 in 2022]. To demonstrate we are committed”.   http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/31/alarm-grows-over-disturbing-lack-of-progress-revealed-at-biodiversity-summit-cop16 http://www.unep-wcmc.org/en/news/world-must-act-faster-to-protect-30-of-planet http://iucn.org/press-release/202410/world-must-act-faster-protect-30-planet-protected-and-conserved-areas-need http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/70859/cop16-gridlock-money-drags-un-biodiversity-wealthy-global-north-countries http://www.cbd.int/conferences/2024 http://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/crisis-facing-nature-takes-centre-stage-un-summit http://www.carbonbrief.org/cop16-countries-miss-un-deadline-to-submit-nature-pledges http://www.carbonbrief.org/developed-countries-failing-to-pay-fair-share-of-nature-finance-ahead-of-cop16/ http://www.carbonbrief.org/nature/nature-policy/cop16-cali/ http://odi.org/en/publications/a-fair-share-of-biodiversity-finance-an-update-for-cop16/   http://www.conservation.org/blog/your-guide-to-the-un-biodiversity-summit http://enb.iisd.org/articles/un-biodiversity-conference http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)02350-X/fulltext http://www.globalwitness.org/en/blog/biodiversity-and-forest-defenders-the-stakes-of-cop16/ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/08/deforestation-destruction-demolition-beef-soy-palm-oil-nickel http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/sep/18/spending-subsidies-environment-deforestation-pollution-fossil-fuels-aoe http://www.climatechangenews.com/2024/10/17/cop16-confronts-huge-challenge-of-protecting-30-of-worlds-land-and-sea/   http://iucn.org/cbdcop16 http://iucn.org/press-release/202410/iucn-flagship-report-calls-countries-rethink-agricultural-and-conservation http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/press_releases/?12112966/NBSAP-Tracker-Press http://wwf.panda.org/?12236941/Global-Roadmap-for-a-Nature-Positive-Economy http://www.ciel.org/cbd-cop16-oil-gas-threats-biodiversity/ http://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-experts-at-16th-un-convention-on-biological-diversity-cbd-cop16/ http://climatenetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/CAN_-CBD-COP16-Briefing_October-2024-.pdf http://www.clientearth.org/latest/press-office/press/global-biodiversity-targets-risk-failing-unless-countries-put-nature-laws-in-place/   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/10/experts-urge-states-fully-integrate-human-rights-cop16-convention-biological http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/10/addressing-global-water-and-food-crisis-crucial-human-rights-says-special http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/09/water-must-be-managed-common-good-and-made-accessible-all-un-expert http://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-environment/annual-thematic-reports   http://www.wri.org/news/statement-un-biodiversity-summit-cop16-kicks-colombia http://www.wri.org/insights/cop16-5-actions-to-stop-biodiversity-loss http://www.wri.org/insights/indigenous-and-local-community-land-rights-protect-biodiversity http://www.iied.org/indigenous-peoples-are-real-solutions-nature-climate-crises http://www.iied.org/collection/un-biodiversity-conference-cop16 http://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/indigenous-territories-peoples-are-key-to-achieving-cop16s-30x30-target-commentary/   Oct. 2024   There has been a catastrophic 73% decline in the average size of monitored wildlife populations in just 50 years (1970-2020), according to WWF’s Living Planet Report (LPR) 2024.   The report warns that, as the Earth approaches dangerous tipping points posing grave threats to humanity, a huge collective effort will be required over the next five years to tackle the dual climate and nature crises.   The Living Planet Index (LPI), provided by ZSL (Zoological Society of London), includes almost 35,000 population trends of 5,495 species from 1970-2020. The strongest decline is in freshwater ecosystems (-85%), followed by terrestrial (-69%) and then marine (-56%).   Habitat loss and degradation, driven primarily by our food system, is the most reported threat to wildlife populations around the world, followed by overexploitation, invasive species and disease. Climate change is a particular additional threat for wildlife populations in Latin America and the Caribbean, which have recorded a staggering 95% average decline.   Declines in wildlife populations can act as an early warning indicator of increasing extinction risk and the potential loss of healthy ecosystems. When ecosystems are damaged they cease to provide humanity with the benefits we have come to depend on - clean air, water and healthy soils for food - and they can become more vulnerable to tipping points.   A tipping point is when an ecosystem is pushed beyond a critical threshold resulting in substantial and potentially irreversible change.   Global tipping points, such as the dieback of the Amazon rainforest and the mass die-off of coral reefs, would create shockwaves far beyond the immediate area impacting food security and livelihoods.   The warning comes as fire outbreaks in the Amazon reached their highest level in 14 years in September and a fourth global mass coral bleaching event was confirmed earlier this year.   Dr Kirsten Schuijt, Director General of WWF International, said: “Nature is issuing a distress call. The linked crises of nature loss and climate change are pushing wildlife and ecosystems beyond their limits, with dangerous global tipping points threatening to damage Earth’s life-support systems and destabilize societies.   The catastrophic consequences of losing some of our most precious ecosystems, like the Amazon rainforest and coral reefs, would be felt by people and nature around the world.”   Countries have already agreed on global goals to halt and reverse nature loss (the Global Biodiversity Framework), cap global temperature rise to 1.5ºC (the Paris Agreement), and eradicate poverty (the UN Sustainable Development Goals). But the Living Planet Report says national commitments and action on the ground fall far short of what’s required to meet targets for 2030 and avoid dangerous tipping points.   The international biodiversity and climate summits taking place shortly – COP16 and COP29 – are a vital opportunity for countries to rise to the scale of the challenge. WWF is calling for countries to produce and implement much more ambitious national nature and climate plans (NBSAPs and NDCs) that include measures to reduce global overconsumption, halt and reverse both domestic and imported biodiversity loss and cut fossil fuel emissions – all in an equitable manner.   WWF urges governments to unlock greater public and private funding to allow action at scale and to better align their climate, nature and sustainable development policies and actions.   Both governments and businesses should act to rapidly eliminate activities with negative impacts on biodiversity and climate, and redirect finance away from harmful practices and towards activities that will deliver on the global goals.   Dr Kirsten Schuijt continued: “Although the situation is desperate, we are not yet past the point of no return. We have global agreements and solutions to set nature on the path to recovery by 2030, but so far there’s been little progress on delivery and a lack of urgency. The decisions made and action taken over the next five years will be crucial for the future of life on Earth. The power − and opportunity − are in our hands to change the trajectory. We can restore our living planet if we act now.”   Dr Andrew Terry, Director of Conservation and Policy at ZSL, said: “The Living Planet Index highlights the continued loss of wildlife populations globally, and this thinning of the tree of life is putting us at risk of breaking dangerous tipping points. We are not locked into this loss. We know what to do and we know that, given the chance, nature can rebound - what we need now is an increase in action and ambition.   We have five years to reach international commitments to restore nature by 2030. World leaders will be coming together soon for COP16, and we need to see strong responses from them and an urgent upscaling of resources to reach those commitments and to put ourselves back on the path to recovery.”   Notes to Editors:   The Living Planet Index shows an average 73% decline in monitored vertebrate wildlife populations (mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish). The percentage change in the index reflects the average proportional change in monitored animal population sizes at sites around the world, not the number of individual animals lost, nor the number of populations lost.   It is also important to note the significance of the 1970 baseline for the various regions monitored. In both Europe and North America large scale impacts on nature were already apparent before the start of the index in 1970, explaining why there is less of a negative trend. North America registered an average decline of 39%, while Europe and Central Asia registered a decline of 35%.   Global tipping points would pose grave threats to humanity and most species, and would damage Earth’s life-support systems and destabilize societies everywhere (see full report).   In the Amazon, as climate change and deforestation lead to reduced rainfall, scientists believe a tipping point could be reached where conditions become unsuitable for tropical forest. This would change regional and global weather patterns, impacting food production, and see the Amazon shift from being a carbon sink to a source of emissions.   Coral reefs are also under extreme threat from climate change, with a fourth global mass coral bleaching event confirmed this year. Each bleaching event weakens the coral, leaving it unable to cope with other pressures, like pollution and overfishing. The mass die-off of coral reefs would destroy fisheries and reduce storm protection for coastal communities, as reefs act as buffers from waves, storms and floods.   Energy and food systems are the main drivers of climate change and nature loss. Fossil fuels contribute approximately 70% of greenhouse gas emissions. Food production is the leading cause of habitat loss, accounts for 70% of water use, and is responsible for over a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions.   Nature-based solutions harness the power of nature to boost natural ecosystems, biodiversity and human well-being to address major societal issues, including climate change. For example, regenerative farming and the restoration of forests, wetlands and mangroves can boost carbon storage, enhance water and air quality, improve food and water security, and help protect against erosion and flooding.   Countries are due to submit revised national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs) aligned to the Global Biodiversity Framework before biodiversity COP16 in Cali, Colombia (21 October - 1 November 2024). WWF is urging countries to ensure these are ambitious and comprehensive and to boost biodiversity finance.   Under the Paris Agreement countries must present new climate plans (Nationally Determined Contributions - NDCs) in 2025, providing a blueprint for how they will contribute to limiting warming to 1.5oC. These plans should include roadmaps for equitably phasing out fossil fuels and transforming food systems.   At COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan (11 November - 22 November), WWF hopes to see the agreement of a new, ambitious climate finance goal to meet the mitigation and adaptation needs of developing countries.   * WWF is an independent conservation organization, with over 30 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.   http://livingplanet.panda.org/ http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/press_releases/?12179466/LPR-2024 http://interconnectedrisks.org/tipping-points/accelerating-extinctions http://www.conservation.org/research/articles/scientists-warning-six-key-points-where-biodiversity-can-improve-climate-change-mitigation http://zenodo.org/records/5101133 http://www.ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-Global-Assessment http://iucn.org/our-work/biodiversity http://ipes-food.org/our-work Visit the related web page
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