With only a quarter of our wild species remaining on the planet, we need to act now to protect what’s left, writes BFBI Executive Director Lucy Gaffney. 

As COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan draws ever closer, the alignment of biodiversity and climate is emerging as a key theme, with nature featuring specifically on day 10 (21st of November), the penultimate day.

The latest WWF Living Planet Report reveals some grim statistics about the current state of nature globally. We are now showing a decline of 73%, a drop of almost three quarters, in the average size of our monitored wildlife populations, with over a million plant and animal species at risk of extinction. Humans have already altered three quarters of our planet’s land surface and two thirds of our marine environments. Although changes in the environment may appear gradual and relatively small, we are beginning to see evidence of their cumulative effects and there are concerns that we are approaching dangerous, irreversible tipping points. If we tip over, the results may be catastrophic. 

Tipping points 

When our planetary systems surpass a tipping point, the results can be unpredictable, and potentially devastating. Nature is approaching these tipping points much faster than predicted. Perhaps we’ll see the collapse of local fish stocks, impacting the livelihoods of the local community. Maybe we will bear witness to regional fish stock collapse on a larger scale that may have a much larger impact on the global economy, destabilising supply chains and income streams on a much grander scale. This is not just an environmental issue, it will affect everyone, everywhere. 

What systems are close to breaking point?  

The Amazon Rainforest supports more than 10% of the planet’s biodiversity and 10% of all known fish species. More than 47 million people call it home. In terms of carbon storage, it sequesters between 250 and 300 billion tonnes of carbon. But decades of deforestation and degradation driven by the beef, soy and palm industries have compromised the Amazon’s resilience. There are fewer trees, leading to less rainfall and increased drought risk. With increasing global temperatures, the Amazon is getting hotter and drier. This means that it is vulnerable to wildfires and is at an increased risk of entering into a vicious cycle of heating and burning. We will feel the impact of this on a global scale with decreased rainfall in water-stressed areas, reduced agricultural productivity and increased food and water scarcity. 

If the Amazon reaches this tipping point it would flip from being a climate ally and would start accelerating climate change. It is estimated that the destruction of Amazonian plants and trees will release 75 billion tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere. So how close are we to tipping the scales? This WWF report predicts that if we remove 20-25% of the Amazon Rainforest, the system will tip. We’re at 17%. 

This is just one critical tipping point. We are also dangerously close to 4 other tipping points, each of which has the potential to push other planetary systems closer to the edge, threatening our earth’s life support systems and society as we know it. 

Melting Ice Sheets in Greenland and the Antarctic have the potential to significantly alter oceanic circulation systems and cause sea levels to rise by several metres. 

Dying Coral Reefs could destroy fishing zones, impacting hundreds of millions of people who depend on the reefs for sustenance. Coral reefs also offer flood and storm protection for these local communities. 

Changing Ocean Currents will devastate marine ecosystems and alter global weather patterns resulting in more extreme winters and more intense summer heatwaves, particularly in Europe. 

Melting Permafrost releases greenhouse gases and other contaminants into the ocean. 

We know what we need to do! 

Nature is remarkably resilient, and if afforded the chance, it will recover. We know what we need to do to alter this disastrous trajectory. Restore ecosystems and increase their resilience. We need to transform our food and energy systems, the main drivers of biodiversity loss and climate change. We need to move money away from damaging activities and fossil fuel investments, and towards nature restoration and protection. 

Ecological breakdown is happening as a result of unrestricted, uncontrolled economic endeavours and business and industry have a critical role to play in turning the tide. Target 15 of the Global Biodiversity Framework asks that businesses assess and disclose their impacts on nature, with a view to creating and implementing a nature strategy that will limit the damage they are doing. The goal is to shift business models into a nature-positive mode, where activities no longer harm the natural world and resources are deployed towards the protection and conservation of what we have left, that 27%. The Global Goal for Nature calls for a halting and reversing of nature loss by 2030, and a trajectory of recovery from then on. 

The world is waking up and we now recognise the need for change. There’s no shortage of knowledge, people or passion to achieve our objectives and turn things around. What we need now is urgent action. Governments, businesses and communities need to mobilise to ensure that we have a healthy planet to pass on to future generations. Individual behaviours matter, mindset matters. Society has the power to change both. With our collective efforts, nature can bounce back.   

Lucy Gaffney is Executive Director of Business for Biodiversity Ireland – join today and we can help your business understand your impacts and dependencies on nature and create a strong nature strategy.