Four distinct early warning signs tell us that rapid climate change may soon become a self-perpetuating process – accelerating beyond our power to avert catastrophic consequences. The Greenland ice cap is melting, permanently frozen arctic soils are thawing, oceans are becoming more acidic and the capacity of forests and grasslands to absorb ever more CO2 is limited.
The need to avoid crossing these thresholds sets a limit to the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gasses. Setting – and meeting – such a target is essential for protecting the Earth’s climate system as a natural resource for all.
Setting a target is a difficult policy task; one that requires informed social choices. Meeting such a target may be even more difficult, requiring extraordinary efforts to restructure the transportation sector, de-carbonize the energy sector and substantially reduce emissions from agriculture, forests and wetlands. Methods and tools to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change will be showcased.
Examples of issues being discussed in this stream include:
- The impact of climate change and environmental degradation from overexploitation of ecosystem services and human security;
- How forests and marine ecosystems control the impact of greenhouse gases and sequester carbon;
- The different adaptation strategies and how countries and communities can be assisted to be prepared for coping with the impacts of climate change;
- The need for corridor planning for species to migrate in response to climate change; and
- The role of protected area networks can play.
