Climate change and biodiversity: Interlinkages and policy options

Introduction

Climate change and biodiversity decline are major

challenges of our time. Both are predominantly caused

by human activities, with profound consequences for

people and the ecosystems on which we depend. In

2021, major United Nations conferences on biodiversity

(COP15

) and on climate change (COP26

) will be held,

providing an opportunity for Governments to focus

international attention on the interconnectedness and

interdependence of climate change andbiodiversity.

Some policy measures are beneficial in both areas,

helping to mitigate and adapt to climate change as well

as conserve and restore biodiversity, while others can

be positive in one sphere but negative in the other. This

briefing examines these interconnections and outlines

how measures that benefit biodiversity have the potential

to support climate action, and how some aspects of climate

action can support biodiversity. It also discusses instances

where addressing one issue inappropriately can undermine

efforts to enhance the other.

Climate change and biodiversity

Interlinkages and policy options

Image: Coral colonies growing in clear shallow waters surrounding a tropical islet in the Majuro Atoll of the Marshall Islands, Paciﬁc Ocean © Tane Sinclair-Taylor

i Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

ii Twenty-sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

1 CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY INTERLINKAGES AND POLICY OPTIONS

1. Understanding the interlinkages between climate change

and biodiversity

1.1 Background – key science concepts

What is biodiversity and why is it important?

Biodiversity is the biological wealth of the Earth. The

United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

defines biological diversity as “the variability among living

organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial,

marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological

complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity

within species, between species and of ecosystems”.

Countless interactions between organisms sustain human

life on the planet, providing physical, cultural, recreational

and spiritual benefits to society, often referred to as

‘ecosystem services’ or ‘nature’s contributions to people’.

Loss of biodiversity can threaten these key benefits,

including some as essential as supplies of food and clean

water, or regulation of climate, pests and pathogens.

How does climate change affect biodiversity?

Aspects of climate change, such as rising temperatures,

changing rain and snowfall patterns and extreme weather

events, have a range of impacts on biodiversity. In the marine

environment, climate change is causing intensified marine

heatwaves, loss of oxygen and sea level rise, which lead to

already observed alterations in biodiversity, ecosystem

functioning and livelihoods such as fishing, particularly for

coastal ecosystems

. The impacts of climate change are

compounded by ocean acidification, which is also caused by

increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Many

terrestrial, freshwater and marine species have shifted their

geographic ranges, seasonal activities, migration patterns,

abundances and way in which they interact with other species

in response to ongoing climate change

The rapid pace of twenty-first century climate change –

currently, the world is on track for a temperature rise in

excess of 3°C this century

– could mean that many species

fail to adapt or migrate at sufficient speed, particularly in

more fragmented landscapes. Some plant and animal

populations will decline whilst others will increase, changing

species interactions such as predation, competition and the

spreadof disease.

How do ecosystems affect the climate?

Ecosystems affect the climate in several ways, and their

biodiversity secures these climate regulating functions.

Biodiversity makes ecosystems more resilient to varying

and shifting climates and other disturbances.

Ecosystems, through vegetation, sediments and soils are major

reservoirs of carbon. The total amount of carbon stored in

the terrestrial biosphere is around three times that found in

the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Changes in these carbon

reservoirs, whether caused by direct human activity, climate

change, or their interactions, can significantly affect the climate.

Ecosystems also influence the climate by altering the

properties of the land surface and the flows of energy and

matter in the oceans and on land. For example, vegetation

increases the rate of water cycling to the atmosphere, which

lowers surface temperatures, increases atmospheric

humidity and affects local cloud formation and, in some

cases, the rate or intensity of rainfall. At a larger scale, these

features affect atmospheric circulation and, hence, regional

and global climate patterns.

1.2 How is biodiversity changing and what role is climate

change playing?

Wildlife worldwide has been influenced by human impacts

with declines in abundance of many species in the last half-

century

4, 5, 6

. Around one million animal and plant species are

now estimated to be threatened with extinction as a result of

human activity

. Local species richness, the number of

different species in an ecosystem, is estimated to have fallen

by around 14% on average due to human activity and more

than 75% in the worst affected habitats

The main driver of biodiversity change in the past 50 years

has been alteration in land and sea use (including, prominently,

tropical deforestation, the largest single cause of recent

biodiversity loss), followed by direct exploitation of

organisms, such as fisheries; climate change; pollution;

and the invasion ofspecies, especially on islands

2 CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY INTERLINKAGES AND POLICY OPTIONS

While climate change has yet to cause major species decline

in some ecosystems, in others it has already resulted in

severe falls in population size and changes in composition

For example, warming-induced coral bleaching has caused

declines of up to 90% in coral populations in some regions,

leading to shifts to alternative types of organisms such as

macroalgae, or broad-scale transformations in coral species

composition

10, 11

. A 2°C warming is expected to cause a decline

of greater than 99% of coral reefs. On land, the impacts of

climate change on the diversity of plants and vertebrates are

predicted to exceed those of land-use by 2050

12, 13

As for the UK, a study of nearly 700 terrestrial and freshwater

species showed that 41% of species had declined in average

abundance since 1970

. Key drivers of this and associated

trends include intensive management of agricultural land

as well as climate change itself, which is causing range

and population changes in sensitive species, alongside

landscape-scale alteration to vulnerable habitats.

Species decline and other impacts of warming would be

significantly lessened by limiting warming to 1.5°C. For

example, a recent study suggests that whereas 4% of

vertebrates, 8% of plants and 6% of insects have been

projected to lose over half of their climate-determined

geographic range at 1.5°C of warming, at under 3°C warming

this rises dramatically to 26% of vertebrates, 44% of plants,

and 49% of all insects. Under 3°C of warming, there may

also be critical declines in some whole habitats, such as

alpine, mountain, and high-latitude ecosystems and some

tropical forests

2, 15

1.3 How can biodiversity support climate adaptation and

mitigation efforts?

Biodiversity can support climate action in many ways,

particularly through well-designed ‘Nature-based solutions’

(NbS)

. These actions are intended to protect, sustainably

manage, and restore ecosystems that address societal

challenges such as climate change, while providing human

well-being and biodiversity benefits. These are reasonably

well understood and available for deployment in terrestrial

systems, but less so in marine systems

NbS supporting both climate change mitigation and adaptation

include protecting and restoring ecosystems such as peatlands

and seagrass meadows, and reforesting woodlands and

mangroves, thus enhancing soil carbon sequestration whilst

increasing resilience to climate change impacts

Scaling up nature-based mitigation actions to their maximum

possible extent has been estimated to result in a potential net

absorption of around 11 billion tonnes CO

-equivalent per year

until the mid-century at least, equivalent to c.27% of current

fossil-fuel carbon dioxide emissions, through enhanced sinks

and reduced sources of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs)

18, 19

However, NbS will allow us to meet climate targets only in

tandem with strict decarbonisation of the economy; the carbon-

holding capacity of the biosphere is limited compared to

current and potential fossil fuel emissions.

While some NbS, such as soil carbon sequestration, can be

applied without changing land use, a key consideration for

others is how much land conversion is required and potential

trade-offs against existing uses and biodiversity.

Image: Appropriate nature-based solutions can help tackle climate change whilst also providing an opportunity for biodiversity protection and recovery.

Bluebell wood at dawn © iStock / simonbradﬁeld

3 CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY INTERLINKAGES AND POLICY OPTIONS

Climate change impacts biodiversity through interactions with the Earth System.

Climate change induced factors such as earlier springs and changing ocean currents have consequences for all life on Earth. In

turn, changes in biodiversity can impact the Earth System responses through changes to balanced cycles which further amplify

climate change. Nature-based solutions (NbS) can help disrupt this cycle through the creation, restoration, management and

protection of ecosystems to promote mitigation of and adaptation to climate change by altering the feedbacks between climate

impacts and biodiversity, and Earth System responses. Examples of such NbS are outlined in the centre of the ﬁgure.

FIGURE 1

KEY

Marine environment

Land environment

Altered

carbon

cycling and storage

Changing surface

reﬂectance

Hydrology changes

Altered

carbon

cycling and storage

Changing surface

reﬂectance

Hydrology changes

Warming

Rainfall change

Heat waves

Extreme weather

Conserve

existing

wetlands

Expand urban

green areas

Biodiversity

friendly

agriculture

Protect

and restore

mangrove

forests

Planting

seagrass

meadows

Protect and

restore

greenlands

Rotate crops

Marine

protected

areas

Restore

natural

waterways

Protect and

restore

woodlands

Altered carbon

cycling and storage

Changing surface

reﬂectance

Hydrology changes

Shifting

species ranges

Population declines

and increases

Novel species compositions

Ecosystem regime shifts

Changing ecosystem

functions

Droughts

Floods

Fires

Changing ocean currents

Earlier spring seasons

NATURE

BASED

SOLUTIONS

4 CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY INTERLINKAGES AND POLICY OPTIONS

2. Integrated policy options for climate change and biodiversity

What is needed to mount a coordinated effort to combat

both climate change and biodiversity decline? First, this

section introduces the UK policy context and the scope for

increasing integration in policy-making on both issues.

Second, it proposes five principles that could guide the

policy response. Third, it presents climate mitigation and

adaptation measures that should be encouraged or

discouraged based on their impacts on biodiversity. Lastly,

it looks at what the UK can do at a global level to address

climate and biodiversity issues in a mutually beneficial way.

2.1 UK policy context

What policies are in place in the UK to address

climate change?

Climate change policy is framed by the 2008 Climate

Change Act, under which carbon budgets are set 12 years

ahead by Parliament on the advice of the independent

Committee on Climate Change (CCC). In December 2020,

the CCC recommended that the UK sets a Sixth Carbon

Budget (i.e. the legal limit for UK net emissions of

greenhouse gases over the years 2033 – 2037) at 965

MtCO

e (million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) to

achieve the net zero 2050 target, implying a 78% reduction

from 1990 to 2035. The budget should cover all GHG

emissions, including those from international aviation and

shipping. This requires that emissions will have to fall more

quickly than foreseen by the existing carbon budgets (i.e. the

fourth and fifth, covering 2023 – 2027 and 2028 – 2032)

The UK Government has already set net zero as its statutory

target for 2050, requiring a 100% reduction of UK GHG net

emissions compared to 1990 levels, with any remaining

gross emissions needing to be offset by removal of GHGs

from the atmosphere or by trading in carbon units

. On 12

December 2020, the UK communicated its new Nationally

Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement

which commits the UK to reducing economy-wide GHG

emissions by at least 68% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels

What policies are in place in the UK to address biodiversity

decline?

UK biodiversity policy is currently based on a ‘Post-2010

Biodiversity Framework’ designed to achieve the global

Aichi Biodiversity Targets, agreed in 2010 by 196 countries

to halt the loss of biodiversity globally by 2020, at a UK

level. The framework is supported by the Joint Nature

Conservation Committee. Each of the UK’s four nations

has set out a biodiversity strategy with a common factor

being an emphasis on integration of the strategy into a

broad range of policies that have a direct or indirect link

with biodiversity

23, 24, 25, 26

. As Northern Ireland’s strategy,

Valuing Nature, says: “A more integrated approach is

required which recognises the need for sustaining

ecosystems that are resilient to change.”

In 2018, the UK Government published a broad 25-year

plan called Our Green Future, with priority areas such as

using land and seas sustainably and restoring nature

The policy response to biodiversity decline has so far been

inadequate at both international and national levels. The

Fifth Global Biodiversity Outlook, published in September

2020, found that none of the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets

had been fully achieved

. According to the UK

Government’s own assessment of performance, the UK has

also failed in its contribution towards these targets. The UK’s

Sixth National Report, published in March 2019, showed the

UK will miss most of its commitments for nature made in

2010. Particular challenges have been encountered in

relation to targets on pollution, vulnerable ecosystems,

conservation status of species and restoring degraded

ecosystems where continuing pressures and other issues

have counteracted progress

In terms of marine policies, the UK has, since 2016,

established some of the world’s largest marine conservation

areas with its 4 million km

‘Blue Belt’ network in the seas

around some of its Overseas Territories

. These protected

areas aim to safeguard biodiversity from the impacts of

fishing, but the level of protection is not always very high,

and investment in enforcement and management is limited.

The UK ranks 94th out of 152 countries in the illegal

unregulated and unreported fishing index (with the

first country being the worst, and the last one the best)

5 CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY INTERLINKAGES AND POLICY OPTIONS

For several decades, the UK followed EU environment

legislation, but with the decision to leave the EU, the UK

Government is developing new environment and agriculture

legislation and is establishing a new Office for Environmental

Protection for England, while the devolved administrations of

Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales create their

owncounterparts

32, 33, 34

2.2 Five principles to guide a joined-up climate and

biodiversity policy response

Transformation

Modelling demonstrates that mitigation at the scale needed

to keep the rise in global temperatures to 1.5°C, or to reverse

global biodiversity decline, requires transformative change in

the way our societies consume and produce resources

Such change would include rapid and far-reaching

transitions in consumption supply chains, energy production

and use, land use, infrastructure, and lifestyle

. The 2021

Dasgupta Review and recent international climate change

and biodiversity assessments have highlighted the need to

transform the economic system, for example by:

complementing GDP with measures that include multiple

values for nature by reducing and redirecting some of the

subsidies for, and financial investment in, fossil fuel,

agriculture, fisheries, forestry, transportation, and mining

towards sustainable policies and practices; internalising

environmental and social externalities (according to IMF

these amount toabout US $5 trillion in 2017

); and

embracing a circular economy

2, 5, 37, 38

Collaboration

Governments alone cannot achieve the transformations

needed – coordinated climate actions from multiple

stakeholders, including the private sector and civil society

are indispensable. Cross-government collaboration, for

example between the ministries of treasury, energy,

environment, agriculture, transportation, and harmonised

policies are also necessary.

Integration

Greater understanding of the biodiversity-climate

relationship may end the separation between the national

and international policy frameworks that currently address

climate change and biodiversity decline. It is important for

policymakers to look at impacts in both areas when

considering any intervention. Such integration will be

furthered in the UK by environmental and agricultural

legislation in line with CCC’s recommendations on land use

and measures to protect marine systems as set out in the

UK’s 25-Year Environment Plan

Additionality

Where NbS are employed to help mitigate climate change,

they should not delay or lower ambition to reduce carbon

dioxide emissions from fossil fuels or reduce energy use

through more energy efficient technologies

. Early

projections indicate that even ambitious deployment of

NbS worldwide can only provide 0.1 – 0.3°C of lowered

global peak temperatures, a significant contribution but

not a solution to climate change in the absence of fossil

fuel emissions reductions

Best practice

The success or failure of NbS is dependent on the adoption

of best practice. In many cases best practice will involve

place-based NbS: the appropriate solution for a specific

location. The spread of best practice requires a well-defined

framework for NbS that includes evidence-based standards

and guidelines

42, 43

to avoid unintended or maladaptive

outcomes

44, 45

2.3 Guidance on policy measures through which the five

principles can be applied

This section sets out policy measures that are beneficial for

both biodiversity and climate change, and should therefore

be encouraged, and measures which are harmful and should

therefore be discouraged.

Policy measures to encourage:

Dietary shift and food waste reduction

In the UK, 38% of the total UK crop supply in 2010 was used

for animal feed, with a significant footprint overseas

, and

20 – 25% of food purchased by consumers in the UK is

wasted

. Globally, animal agriculture is a major contributor to

global biodiversity loss

. A reduction in meat and dairy

consumption and a significant reduction in food loss and

waste would not only significantly reduce greenhouse gas

emissions, which itself benefits biodiversity through limiting

climate change

, it would also reduce pressure for

deforestation and on other natural habitats abroad, and free

land and resources for the wider use of NbS in the UK

. As

such, dietary shifts and reduction in food loss and waste

create the enabling conditions that make other actions

outlined below more feasible.

Peatland restoration

Peatland restoration has multiple benefits for amenity, water

resources, flood protection, biodiversity and climate. For

example, restored peatlands show renewed growth of

sphagnum moss species and attract invertebrates and

birds

. The CCC has proposed restoring at least 50% of

upland peat and 25% of lowland peat, which would reduce

annual peatland emissions by 5 MtCO

e per year by 2050

6 CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY INTERLINKAGES AND POLICY OPTIONS

Expanded and improved forest cover

Expansion of cover of native woodland, through woodland

restoration and natural regeneration, in a network that

facilitates connectivity and species migration, will enhance

biodiversity and carbon storage in UK ecosystems. The

CCChas proposed increasing UK forest cover from 13% to

atleast 17% by 2050 by planting at least 30,000 hectares

ofwoodland each year. With improved forest management,

this is estimated to sequester 14 MtCO

e per year by 2050

in forests plus a further 14 MtCO

e per year from

harvestedmaterials

Climate and biodiversity friendly agriculture

Farmers can be offered financial incentives in the form of

‘public money for public goods’, such as peatland restoration

on their lands, or protection of pollinators that have an

estimated value of £1 billion to UK farmers

. Such measures

are included in the current Agriculture Bill in England, while

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have each made

commitments to supporting sustainable farming

54, 55, 56, 57

. Other

measures are also positive for biodiversity, such as protecting

hedgerows that store carbon, provide wildlife habitats and

greatly increase habitat connectivity

58, 59

. A next step could be

to set targets for take-up of such incentives.

Marine protected areas

The UK has a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

including more than 90 Marine Conservation Zones that

protect a range of important, rare or threatened habitats and

species

. For example, because of the overseas territories,

the UK is ranked the 12th largest coral reef custodian out of 80

nations

. As well as protecting biodiversity, many MPAs

support climate resilience, either by protecting the coastline

from severe weather events, for example through sandbanks

or seaweed, or by absorbing carbon dioxide, seagrasses, salt

water reedbeds and muddy habitats

. To be effective, MPAs

should be extended with new investment in their management

and enforcement of protection rules

Green spaces in cities

Increasing green spaces in cities is vital for adaptation

as they have a cooling effect, support biodiversity and

its connectivity, and enable many biodiversity-associated

mental, physical and cultural welfare benefits to people

living in urban areas, as well as making a contribution to

carbon storage and climate change mitigation

Biodiversity-friendly renewables

Upscaling of renewable energy production should avoid

negative impacts on biodiversity where possible. For example,

engineers can design offshore wind farms to be biodiversity

friendly and attract species under water

. Techniques include

structures on which new reefs can grow along with fish

habitats and sea grass settlements. Overall, marine sites

where renewable energy technologies are being deployed

should be managed to optimise the potentially positive

effects, by adopting exclusion zones from other destructive

activities such as bottom trawling and dredging and support

the colocation of other industries such as mariculture that

support wider benefits from nature

. On land, solar farms

need to avoid fragmenting habitats or becoming barriers to

the movement of wildlife species

. It is also important to

source raw materials for renewables in a way that ensures

minimal damage to biodiversity.

When using the policy measures listed above, the UK should

adopt a holistic strategy. Multiple mechanisms can be used

simultaneously to provide multi-layered benefits for

biodiversity and climate, while enhancing environmental and

socio-economic benefits. These benefits could be achieved

through public time-bound incentives or through investment

and trading mechanisms that reward emissions reduction

through natural or engineered solutions. However, with many

options available, more needs to bedone on evaluating

what constitutes success.

Policy measures to discourage:

Monocultures

Planting trees, either for bioenergy or as long-term carbon

sinks, should focus on restoring and expanding native

woodlands and avoid creating large monoculture plantations

that do not support high levels of biodiversity. Simple targets

such as ‘numbers of trees planted’ ignore biodiversity

considerations, such as long-term survival of trees or

stewardship, and can be misleading, potentially contributing

to policy failure and misuse of carbon offsets

Unsustainable energy crops

The modelled benefits of Bioenergy with Carbon Capture

and Storage to mitigate climate change (the use of crops to

generate power and fuel while capturing CO

), for reducing

emissions are significant. However, the scale of some

modelled deployments would either take up large amounts

of land now used for food production or have negative

effects on the amount of land available for preservation or

restoration of natural ecosystems. Policy should also limit

use of fuelwood pellets and other feedstocks for bioenergy

where it might intensify pressure on semi-natural ecosystems.

7 CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY INTERLINKAGES AND POLICY OPTIONS

Peatland forestry

One specific challenge for the UK is to roll back the trend

towards planting trees on peatlands. Such planting releases

carbon from long-term soil reservoirs that have absorbed

carbon for millennia and can continue to do so as wood is a

shorter-term biomass store which is more likely to be

converted back to carbon dioxide within years to decades.

Nonetheless, estimates indicate that 18% of UK peatlands

have been converted to forestry, according to the

International Union for the Conservation of Nature. There is

therefore a need to enforce the UK Forestry Standard’s

specific presumption against the conversion of priority

habitats such as deep peat or active raised bogs

2.4 What can the UK do at a global level?

The UK’s role in environmental issues embraces both its own

domestic policy and its influence over global policies. As

well as acting nationally, the UK can become a leader in

linking biodiversity and climate change policy as well as

contributing to global agreements and initiatives. It has an

opportunity to take the lead in bringing about the systemic

change required to address the underlying drivers of

biodiversity decline and climate change.

Connect biodiversity and climate policy

Given the growing focus on the interconnectedness of

climate and biodiversity and the forthcoming United Nations

conferences on both issues, the UK could prioritise the

importance of systemic change to integrate policy making

at the global level

17, 70

Practical steps to this end could include:

• advocating for alignment of climate and biodiversity

targets and identified actions;

• increasing collaboration between the Intergovernmental

Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem

Services (IPBES) and the Intergovernmental Panel on

Climate Change (IPCC) which includes joint work programs;

• promoting that the new global biodiversity goals to

beadopted by the CBD for the next decade are holistic

and ambitious

;

• exploring funding for NbS, particularly via the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC)’s planned forum on ‘Finance for nature-based

solutions’

; and

• strengthening the role of the Joint Liaison Group on

theRio Conventions

iii

Other possibilities for UK action beyond the UK include:

Sustainable trade

The UK should lead by example in accounting for embodied

carbon emissions and biodiversity impacts of its imported

goods, and encourage action to avoid the destruction of

natural habitats and biodiversity loss in supply chains;

establish certification standards; and hold businesses to

account who have said they will do this

73, 74

. When assessing

both climate and biodiversity impacts, it is critical to take into

account the whole life cycle of a product.

Forests and other ecosystems

The UK could lead, for example through the Commonwealth

Charter, in supporting sustainable forest protection and

expansion across the world, favouring ecologically intact

forests, and avoiding planting trees in inappropriate

landscapes. This should be complemented by additional

focus on protection and restoration of non-forest

landscapes, including peatlands, savannas, natural

grasslands, freshwater and marine systems.

iii The mandate of the Joint Liaison Group, which comprises the Executive Secretaries of the CBD, UNCCD and UNFCCC, is to enhance coordination

among the three Rio Conventions and explore options for further cooperation.

Image: Many ecosystems are naturally low tree cover systems. Increasing

tree cover in such systems to meet climate mitigation goals is likely to

lead to poor biodiversity outcomes. Aerial view over Okavango Delta

8 CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY INTERLINKAGES AND POLICY OPTIONS

Conclusion

Climate change and biodiversity are inherently connected

and addressing them is central to achieving the UN

Sustainable Development Goals. While a warming planet

leads to biodiversity decline, biodiversity-based solutions

can contribute to both climate change mitigation and

adaptation. However, climate change and biodiversity tend

to be governed separately at home and internationally,

hindering solutions that could address both issues.

By better integrating climate and biodiversity policies

at national and international levels, the full potential of

biodiversity to support climate action could be leveraged,

while at the same time helping to reverse the ongoing

decline inbiodiversity.

To create a fully sustainable future, the UK needs a rapid

transition towards clean energy, large-scale ecological

restoration of degraded ecosystems, a continued ramping up

of biological conservation, and transformation of supply chains

to reduce resource extraction and environmental impacts.

These actions, in turn, require transformation of economic and

political structures and societal norms, including subsidies,

incentives and international trade regulations, confirmation

of the effectiveness and direction of interventions, and a

significant shift in public opinion and lifestyles.

Image: Valley view below the mountains of Glencoe, Scotland, UK © iStock / FedevPhoto

9 CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY INTERLINKAGES AND POLICY OPTIONS

Dedication to Dame Georgina Mace FRS (1953 – 2020)

This publication is dedicated to Dame Georgina Mace FRS

who worked tirelessly through her research and advocacy

for the causes of biodiversity and the environment.

Georgina Mace’s research covered a range of topics that

related to the trends and consequences of biodiversity

loss and ecosystem change. She developed the criteria

for measuring species extinction risk that are now used by

the International Union for Conservation of Nature for their

regular Red Lists of Threatened Species. Georgina also

identified the factors that cause different species to be more

or less vulnerable to extinction. She developed approaches

to understanding climate change impacts and how this

varies between species and in different ecosystems.

A second area of her research concerns ecosystem services

and natural capital accounting, which she became interested

in through her work on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

and the UK’s National Ecosystem Assessment. Georgina

had been especially concerned with evaluating the links

between biodiversity and ecosystem services, incorporating

ecosystem services into biodiversity targets and examining

trade-offs amongst ecosystem services. Most recently, she

developed a new approach to measuring the loss of natural

capital, using a risk register.

For her services to environmental science, Georgina was

awarded an OBE in 1998, a CBE in 2007 and made a DBE

in 2016.

At the time of her death on 19 September 2020, Georgina

was fully committed to contributing to this briefing. She is

greatly missed by all those involved with this project and

the wider environmental science communities.

10 CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY INTERLINKAGES AND POLICY OPTIONS

Annex A

Working group members

Chair: Professor Yadvinder Malhi FRS, University of Oxford

Professor Sebsebe Demissew ForMem, Addis Ababa University

Professor Sandra Diaz ForMem, Córdoba National University

Professor Nick Graham, Lancaster University

Professor Dame Georgina Mace FRS, University College London

Dr Isla Myers-Smith, University of Edinburgh

Professor Colin Prentice FRS, Imperial College London

Professor Nathalie Seddon, University of Oxford

Professor Pete Smith FRS, University of Aberdeen

Professor Martin Solan, University of Southampton

11 CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY INTERLINKAGES AND POLICY OPTIONS

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