A recent study in Science by Associate Professor Mark Urban (University of Connecticut) claims that one in six species will face extinction as a result of climate change. Most heavily impacted will be Australia, New Zealand and South America because of the number of endemic species in these areas.
The study shows that the rate of biodiversity loss is not just increasing with climate change but it is accelerating.
According to Urban if humans follow their current business as usual trajectory, a temperature rise of 4.3 degrees celsius is predicted. This would lead to a loss of one in six species. But even this temperature rise may be under-estimated according to most experts.
Urban says that it is not too late to limit warming. "We can still control our greenhouse gas emissions, work to predict those species most at risk, and design and implement conservation strategies that protect the most threatened species."
