An international body of experts has warned that tackling climate change in isolation could cause damaging trade-offs and unintended consequences for nature and other planetary crises. The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released a landmark report on Tuesday highlighting how biodiversity loss, water and food insecurity, health risks, and climate change are interconnected, amplifying each other's devastating global impacts.
Professor Paula Harrison, from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and co-chair of the report, said that current efforts are often siloed and counterproductive. She cited the example of planting fast-growing trees for carbon capture in the UK, which can negatively impact water, biodiversity, and food if not done carefully. “If you were only tackling climate change, you might plant really fast growing trees that are very dense in structure... you end up with a massively dense force that has no benefit of value whatsoever for biodiversity,” she said.
The report, compiled by 165 experts from 57 countries over three years, collated dozens of options for integrated decision-making. Professor Pamela McElwee, co-chair from the US, said: “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.”
The authors warned that current decision-making prioritises short-term financial returns while ignoring costs to nature. They said carrying on with “business as usual” will lead to “substantial negative outcomes” for biodiversity, water, food, health, and climate, and will see costs skyrocket. The report put forward more than 70 options, including restoring carbon-rich ecosystems, managing biodiversity to reduce disease risks, urban nature-based solutions, and sustainable healthy diets.
