Climate, biodiversity, and societal challenges are intrinsically linked and yet are usually viewed in isolation.
Climate, biodiversity, and societal challenges are intrinsically linked and yet are usually viewed in isolation. A new review study, published in the journal Science this week (21st April 2023), focusses on connecting these issues, calling for global and interdisciplinary action to protect society from these crises. The international team led by the Alfred Wegner Institute (AWI), alongside colleagues from British Antarctic Survey (BAS), lays out the urgent need for action and some potential solutions to mitigate against these challenges.
This international collaboration is a result of a scientific workshop, supported by the Intergovernmental Panels on Climate Change (IPCC) and Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The workshop brought together researchers from 35 countries to consider joint solutions to both climate change and nature loss. The review study is an outcome of this workshop which examines the scales of the challenges and the global solutions necessary.
Dr David Barnes, a marine biologist at BAS and co-author of the study, says:
“Human society faces two very serious, interwoven crises, climate change and nature loss. Solutions that tackle these together are generally much more effective and lasting than considering either catastrophe on its own. Our paper explores outcomes of many of the common and possible actions we can and need to urgently take.”
Read more at British Antarctic Survey
Image: Endangered blue whales have returned to the waters around South Georgia and the Southern Ocean as the species recovers following a ban on commercial whaling (Photo Credit: Dr. Amy Kennedy via British Antarctic Survey)
