Call for Nexus Approach as Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss Interlinked

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- K V Krishna Chaitanya @Chennai

2024 has been a year of extremes. Global warming surpassed 1.5 degrees Celsius for the first time on record, a critical threshold if breached continuously will push the limits of life on Earth to adapt. The United Nations University in Bonn said nearly one million species are currently at risk of extinction and natural ecosystems are crumbling.

The latest science says these two are deeply interconnected and warns that tackling them in isolation is ineffective and often counterproductive.

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has released a new landmark report called "Nexus Report", a product of three years of work by 165 leading international experts from 57 countries from all regions of the world.

The report categorically says existing actions to address these challenges fail to tackle the complexity of interlinked problems and result in inconsistent governance.

"These issues are not standalone; they cascade and compound each other," said Prof Paula Harrison, co-chair of the report. "Without integrated action, we risk making matters worse."

The report examines five key crises-climate change, biodiversity loss, food insecurity, water scarcity, and health risks-and illustrates how these issues amplify one another. For example, efforts to boost food production often strain land and water resources, undermining biodiversity and exacerbating climate change.