Tackling climate change without US assistance

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) pointed out that climate change will be leading cause of loss of species.

If you like stepping out into the wilderness, and enjoying the sights and sounds of nature, climate change should be one of the things that should worry you.

Habitat degradation is a huge disaster too and contributes to climate change, which in turn, hits species. (AFP)

The Guardian recently reported a study where scientists have concluded that it wasn’t any giant asteroid that bumped off animals from the planet, but in fact, increasing temperatures. This was called ‘the Great Dying’ and took place about 252 million years ago, ending about 96% of the marine and 66% of the territorial species, says the report.

Sadly, earlier this year, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) pointed out that climate change will be leading cause of loss of species. Habitat degradation, as the report points out, it is a huge disaster too and contributes to climate change, which in turn, hits species.

It’s reasonable to expect global leadership to take data-driven decisions. Sadly, not. US President Donald Trump has just decided to open up critical breeding habitats of the Sage Grouse. Here’s a bird whose breeding male population fell by 56% from 2007 to 2013 and it was not put on the endangered list only. Now, the land has been opened for oil drilling. The world has to know now that we have to handle climate change without the US.

(The writer is founder and director Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group)