With climate change increasingly affecting wildlife and nature conservation, our new report published with Natural England and WWF-UK shows that the Earth's wildlife and natural systems are already showing significant impacts. It’s a timely to our political leaders - and to us all - just what's at stake if we fail to take the climate challenge seriously. Because there’s a very worrying conclusion that the degree of climate change likely from the current lack of global action on greenhouse gas reduction is leading us towards a future with much of life on Earth either at a risk or lost.
'Climate Change: Biodiversity and People at the Front Line' is a brief and readable summary of talks from a range of eminent speakers given at a conference held at the Royal Society in London. It looks at how climate change has already affected ecosystems, marine life, tropical forests and polar regions, and has an update on climate change science from the UK Met Office. It makes links between wildlife, ecosystems and people and also looks to the future, with Professor Chris Thomas warning that if we don't take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss now, 'we will end up being reviled as the generation that failed to act, that let nature die, even when we knew what would happen'.
I’m determined that we avoid such a bleak prospect. Professor Sir Robert Watson, Chief Scientific Adviser at Defra, raises the need for action in his one-page foreword, which includes a call for wider recognition of these issues and to put halting dangerous climate change at the heart of policies and practice.
So when you read the report feel inspired to act to help solve this big problem. The RSPB is stepping up action for climate change – across our nature reserves and Futurescapes, in our nature recovery work and policy and outreach activities, and in striving for lower carbon working. Our work today needs a secure future. You can add your bit too – please do.