TWH – Several reports and new shifts in policy on the environment were recently published, with some experts stressing that they highlight the need for the global community to take more action when it comes to sustainability and combating climate change.
Image credit: Pixabay
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released its annual “Living Planet Report 2022 – Building a nature-positive society,“ which cites a 69% average decline in species populations between 1970 and 2018. The report was compiled by the WWF in partnership with the Zoological Society of London.
While the 69% decline is a global average of the abundance of wildlife species, the largest regional decline occurred in Latin America, which has seen a 94% decline. The largest overall global decline of 83% was in freshwater species.
While many of the declines in numbers may pass the notice of the average person, there continue to be stories in the news that reflect those declines.
On Monday, October 10, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) issued an advisory announcement that the winter snow crab season in the Bering Sea was cancelled.
According to news reports, the snow crab population, which was estimated to number over a billion just two years ago, has declined by 90%.
The cause of the rapid decline in the snow crab population is as of yet unknown and could be a result of disease, or a reflection of the warming climate. Alaska has seen an increase in temperature, the fastest of any U.S. state.
“Environmental conditions are changing rapidly,” ADF&G researcher Ben Daly said. “We’ve seen warm conditions in the Bering Sea the last couple of years, and we’re seeing a response in a cold adapted species, so it’s pretty obvious this is connected. It is a canary in a coal mine for other species that need cold water.”
Whatever the cause, the impacts will be felt not just by Alaskan fisheries, but the entire seafood industry, since Alaska produces 60% of the nation’s seafood. The estimated economic cost is $200 million in lost revenue.
The WWF report outlines both the climate change crisis and the losses in biodiversity, seeing them as opposite sides of the same coin. It warns that both will imperil the human well-being of current and future generations if more action is not taken to reverse the decline of species and limit the increase and impacts of climate change.
Everyone has a role to play in addressing these emergencies; and most now acknowledge that transformations are needed. This recognition now needs to be turned into action.
The connection between deforestation and the degradation of ecosystems in the report highlights the negative impacts that will be experienced when it comes to food and water supplies. Currently, forests are disappearing at the rate of approximately 10 million hectares, nearly 25 million acres, a year. This is a staggering amount of forested land – roughly the size of Portugal – that is being lost each year.
It is also reflective of how quickly and wide-ranging the losses are happening. Not all areas are being impacted at the same rate. The report identifies six key areas of impacts to 23,271 species of wildlife: agriculture, hunting, logging, pollution, invasive species and climate change.
The report also highlights the need to partner with Indigenous peoples and how important Indigenous leadership when it comes to conservation and helping to promote the connection between nature and humans.
The final segment of the WWF report focuses on the need to create a nature-positive society and culture that ensures the right to a clean and sustainable environment.
The report highlights that while continuing on the current trajectory offers little if any hope of preserving the viability of the planet to produce enough food and water to sustain the growing human population, rapid transformation of various systems could possibly reverse some or all the losses already experienced and prevent future losses.
On the heels of the WWF report being released, Sweden announced its plan to abolish its Environmental Ministry. The Ministry was first created in 1987, placing Sweden as a role model and leader in establishing policy to combat climate change. This recent shift has political climate researchers and Sweden’s own Green Party members concerned about future policy.
Issues concerning the environment will now be handled by the newly formed Climate and Environment Ministry, under the oversight of the new minister of Energy and Business, Ebba Busch.
In a statement to the media, Busch said she felt that environmental issues “had been given too much weight” in previous administrations, and that, “If we want to solve climate issues, it’s about transforming industry and the transport sector.”
Critics of the decision to end the Environment Ministry pointed to Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s speech when he unveiled his new cabinet, which made no mention at all of the climate crisis when he outlined the four largest threats Sweden faces.
Sweden has been a world leader in developing green policies, with 52% of the country’s energy coming from renewable sources, and a successful and innovative recycling program.
This recent policy shift is reflective of concerns over energy sources, and looks to place more emphasis on continued development of nuclear power. There is concern over how these shifts will negatively impact biodiversity and forestry, and likely result in a failure to meet the goals of 2030 Agenda.
Image credit: Raafat – CC BY-SA 4.0
Sweden’s policy shift comes just a few weeks before the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27, slated to be held from November 6 – 18 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
COP27 is largely viewed as a last chance to make changes and set new policies in order to meet the directives set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change. While past Climate Change Conferences have set a goal of achieving 70% zero emissions by 2030, it is unclear if those numbers will be achieved.
One thing that is clear, is that the impacts of the changing climate are already being seen and will likely continue if more action is not taken.
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