Climate change could become ‘main driver’ of biodiversity loss by mid-century

The Impact of Global Warming on Biodiversity Loss

A new study suggests that global warming could become the main driver of biodiversity loss by the mid-21st century. The study, published in Science, reveals that worldwide biodiversity declined between 2% and 11% during the 20th century due to changes in land use for food and timber production. However, the research indicates that in the future, climate change will further degrade biodiversity, surpassing the impact of land use change.

The Largest Modelling Study on Biodiversity Loss

The analysis, led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), is the largest modelling study of its kind to date. Researchers used models to assess the impact of land-use change and climate change in three scenarios, ranging from sustainable development to a high emissions world. In all scenarios, changes in land use and global warming resulted in biodiversity loss in all world regions.

The Relationship between Climate Change and Biodiversity

According to Akshay Deoras, a research scientist at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science and the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading, climate change amplifies the existing effect of biodiversity loss. Even without climate change, biodiversity would continue to evolve, resulting in the destruction of some old species. However, climate change exacerbates this effect by adding extra pressure to the evolution process. Changes in land use also contribute to climate change by reducing CO2 absorption, fueling temperatures and affecting the oceans.

The Need for Renewed Efforts to Protect Biodiversity

The researchers emphasize that current policies are insufficient to meet international biodiversity goals. Even the most sustainable modelling scenario did not include all the necessary policies to protect biodiversity. Lead author Prof Henrique Pereira calls for renewed efforts to address human-caused biodiversity change, which is one of the world’s largest problems.

The Effects of Climate Change on the Middle East Region – In Pictures

Last year, scientists warned that climate change and biodiversity loss directly impact human health, particularly vulnerable and impoverished communities. These communities face rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and the spread of infectious diseases. Treating climate change and biodiversity loss as separate challenges is a dangerous mistake, according to a unified editorial published in over 200 health journals worldwide.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDG 13: Climate Action

   • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
   • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning
   • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning
   • Target 13.a: Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible
   • Target 13.b: Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth, and local and marginalized communities

   The article discusses the impact of climate change on biodiversity loss, highlighting the connection between global warming and the degradation of biodiversity. This aligns with SDG 13, which aims to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

2. SDG 15: Life on Land

   • Target 15.1: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains, and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements
   • Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity, and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species
   • Target 15.9: By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies, and accounts

   The article discusses the decline in worldwide biodiversity due to changes in land use, including for food or timber production. This aligns with SDG 15, which aims to protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss.

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Fuente: thenationalnews.com

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