Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss: Interconnected Challenges and Priority Measures

Climate change refers to long-term variations in temperature and weather patterns, primarily caused by human activities since the 19th century, although natural changes in the solar cycle also play a role. The key indicators of climate change include rising atmosphere and sea temperatures, heat waves, storms, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, altered wind and rainfall patterns, changes in plant and animal life cycles and migration, and coral damage. These changes are largely attributed to the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere, which contribute to global warming by increasing the absorption of infrared radiation. Biodiversity, on the other hand, encompasses the genetic and phenotypic variation at various levels, from molecular to ecosystem. It represents Earth's wealth and provides essential goods and services, including resource provisioning, supporting services for protection and regulation of ecosystems, and cultural services that satisfy human appreciation of nature. Biodiversity is organized within ecosystems, where plants (producers), animals (consumers), and microorganisms (decomposers) coexist and interact with each other and the environment through food chains, biomass dynamics, and energy flows. Priority measures to address climate change and biodiversity loss include achieving the temperature target of 1.5°C recommended by the Paris Agreement, reducing GHG emissions, preserving and restoring ecosystems, promoting sustainable agriculture, adopting healthy and sustainable diets, improving forestry and agroforestry practices, reducing food waste, and enhancing carbon capture and storage. The post-2020 global biodiversity framework aims to achieve the 2030 biodiversity targets and the 2050 United Nations vision, which outlines long-term plans to minimize the impacts of climate change on biodiversity through effective and equitable climate action that mitigates further loss and damage.