Climate change is already having an impact on all types of animal and plant life on every continent. A warming planet means a warmer ocean, with devastating consequences for tropical coral reefs. These colourful undersea cities are some of the most wildlife-rich ecosystems on the planet, providing shelter, food and spawning grounds for thousands of marine species. But they may not survive for much longer.
Coral reefs are sensitive to even the smallest changes in temperature, and climate change threatens their existence. Mass coral-bleaching events can turn vibrant reef ecosystems that once teemed with life into dead, white skeletons.
The world’s average surface temperature has already risen by 1.1°C since the Industrial Revolution, according to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. It’s projected that if the global temperature rise reaches 1.5°C, coral reefs will decline by more than 70% by 2050. Virtually all of them will be lost if the planet heats up by 2°C.
Our recent report on the impacts of climate change on 12 iconic species across the world highlighted that every half a degree of additional warming can irreversibly damage many important ecosystems that provide vital services to hundreds of millions of people and lead to the extinction of the precious wildlife that lives in these places.
Our climate change chief adviser, Stephen Cornelius, compares the risks associated with the failure to limit global warming to the injuries a person faces when falling off a winners’ podium onto a hard concrete floor. While falling off a one-metre platform is likely to result in minor bruises, the risk of serious harm increases if the platform is one-and-a-half or two metres high. “When falling, every half a metre matters,” he explains. “With global warming, every half a degree matters.”
CLIMATE RISKS: 1.5ºC vs 2ºC GLOBAL WARMING
OCEANS
Lower risks to marine biodiversity, ecosystems and their ecological functions and services at 1.5ºC than at 2ºC
SEA-LEVEL RISE
10cm higher at 2°C than at 1.5°C in 2100. This difference would expose up to 10 million more people to risks
FOOD
Every 0.5ºC of warming will consistently lead to lower yields and lower nutritional content in tropical regions
EXTREME WEATHER
1.5%
100% increase in flood risk
2%
170% increase in flood risk
people
1.5%
9% of the world’s population (700 million people) will be exposed to extreme heatwaves at least once every 20 years
2%
28% of the world’s population (two billion people) will be exposed to extreme heatwaves at least once every 20 years
SPECIES
1.5%
6% of insects, 8% of plants and 4% of vertebrates will be affected
2%
18% of insects, 16% of plants and 8% of vertebrates will be affected
Based on the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C and Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate
Keep 1.5°C on the table
To tackle climate change and its negative impacts, 196 countries (together with the EU) adopted the Paris Agreement in 2015. They agreed to try to limit global temperature rises to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Many countries, including the UK and the US, as well as the EU, have promised cuts in emissions by 2030 and mid-century.
But despite the nations’ climate pledges and ‘net zero’ targets, the world is not on track to slow climate change enough. In fact, even if all the pledges and targets are achieved, the promised cuts will still lead to a global temperature rise of 2.4°C by the end of the century.
“There is a huge gap between setting climate targets and taking the actions required to achieve them,” warns Stephen. “Setting more ambitious targets is important, but meeting them is crucial.”
In the run-up to the UN climate conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021, we demanded that UK governments put in place the policies needed to cut emissions, including from the agriculture, business and finance sectors, as well as boosting the investments needed to help deliver a 1.5°C world.
UK climate change
Domestic wildlife is already affected
Around the world
Climate change is a global issue
Putting nature first
If we’re to achieve the targets we need to meet, not only do we have to shift away from fossil fuels, but nature must be placed at the heart of climate action. While scientists acknowledge that the climate and nature emergencies are interconnected, previous policies have often addressed them separately, which can result in poor outcomes.
“Biodiversity loss and climate change are two sides of the same coin and can only be solved together,” says Stephen.
With your support, we’re developing nature-based solutions that not only directly benefit wildlife and people, but also reduce the impacts of climate change. For example, forests, peatlands and seagrass meadows can act as ‘carbon sinks’ by drawing down carbon from the atmosphere and storing it.
But the rapid degradation and destruction of these habitats accelerates the climate crisis and releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
On the other hand, when these ecosystems are protected and restored, they help regulate floods, improve water quality, slow down coastal erosion and create economic opportunities for local communities. Through our seagrass restoration project with Sky Ocean Rescue and Swansea University, we’ve helped plant 20,000 sq m of seagrass in Pembrokeshire – and we aim to plant 200,000 sq m in coastal areas around the UK by 2026.
© GETTY
Although COP26 didn’t go far enough to address the climate loss and damages that developing countries face, there were signs of progress, with breakthroughs on some key climate promises.
The Glasgow Climate Pact recognises the latest science, and calls on countries to return by the end of 2022 with stronger pledges and plans for how they’ll reduce emissions and limit warming to 1.5°C.
It’s the first climate deal to reference coal – the most polluting fossil fuel – and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies. And the role and importance of nature as a climate hero in achieving the target of 1.5/2ºC was formally recognised.
“It’s clear that taking climate action should be seen as an investment and not a cost,” says Stephen. “The choices we make now will determine the future prosperity and health of us all, and of our one shared home.”
Together, we can keep the pressure on world leaders to deliver on their promises and keep 1.5°C within reach.
Take action today to make a change
Find out how you can play your part in limiting climate change, from lobbying your MP to switching pensions
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