While I was away with the family last week (enjoying walks in the Peak District, Kent and Cambridgeshire as well as the final stages of the mighty Rugby World Cup), three things caught the eye...
First, the publication of the new global red list of birds (see here) highlighted that 40 more bird species are now classified as having a higher risk of extinction while 23 species of birds have been downgraded to lower threat categories. It caused quite a stir in the UK because the risk of extinction of the iconic puffin has grown. Although its population is still doing well in the UK, large declines have been reported in Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Norway (which together account for about 80% of the European population) and it appears that this is what has affected its status. Like many of our seabirds, this species is highly susceptible to the impacts of climate change, such as sea temperature rise and shifts in prey distribution and abundance. This is, of course, made worse when its prey species (such as sand eels) are exploited unsustainably.
It seemed apt then that the Red List emerged as the latest round of global climate change talks concluded in Bonn - the last before the big summit in Paris at the end of the year. These two perspectives from experienced climate campaigners, John Lanchbery (here) and my former colleague Ruth Davis (here), give a flavour of what still needs to be done to secure a fair and binding global deal which will be sufficient to prevent catastrophic climate change. I was particularly struck by the closing remarks from the Costa Rican in charge of bringing talks to a successful conclusion, Christiana Figueres. Her message for all those coming to December’s summit (inside and outside the formal negotiating process) was "Come to Paris. Participate. But participate responsibly. Because I am telling you very clearly, that irresponsible participation – anything that delays action and undermines common ground – is unacceptable. This is not a game. It is our planet and our future that is at stake".
There are some issues that demand political leadership and I trust that this will be delivered in Paris. And that is exactly what is needed when European Environment Ministers meet (also in December) to consider the future of the EU Nature Directives which is why it was hugely reassuring that nine Member States have already declared their hand and asked to keep the Directives intact (see here). Rightly, Germany et al have concluded that "it will not be possible to meet the goals of the EU Biodiversity Strategy by 2020 without them".
So, if you think that our politicians need a bit of nudge to do the right thing, please support our defend Nature campaign here and pencil 29 November in your diary to take part in the People's March for action on climate change (here).
Politicians need to have clarity of thought at the end of the year as they make big decisions that affect nature and the climate