Overview of Main Issues
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), eleven of the last twelve years ranked among the warmest years since recording began in 1850. Furthermore, an additional increase of approximately 0.4°C is expected over the next two decades.
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment warns that this climate change is likely to become the dominant direct driver of biodiversity loss by the end of the century. In fact, climate change is already having an impact on biodiversity either through shifting habitat, changing life cycles, the development of new physical traits or species die-offs and extinctions.
Adaptation activities can help species and ecosystems cope with changing climatic conditions. Ranging from the construction of protective infrastructure to the development of corridors or the planting of resistant tree or crop varieties, adaptation activities can have either a positive, negative or neutral impact on biodiversity.