“Every aspect of life on earth [has already been] impacted by climate change — from genes to entire ecosystems,” says a study in the journal Science.
“There is now clear evidence that, with only a ~1oC of warming globally, very major impacts are already being felt,” said one of the study’s lead authors, Dr. Brett Scheffers of the University of Florida. “Genes are changing, species’ physiology and physical features such as body size are changing, species are rapidly moving to keep track of suitable climate space, and there are now signs of entire ecosystems under stress.”
Eighty percent of 94 ecological processes already show signs of distress, according to the researchers. Humans can expect to see more pest and disease outbreaks, mixed with lower agricultural yields and less productive fisheries.
The study’s lead author, Dr. James Watson from the Wildlife Conservation Society and University of Queensland said, “The level of change we have observed is quite astonishing considering we have only experienced a relatively small amount of climate change to date. It is no longer sensible to consider this a concern for the future. Policy makers and politicians must accept that if we don’t curb greenhouse gas emissions, an environmental catastrophe is likely.”
The report comes as President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to cancel America’s commitments to the global climate treaty known as the Paris Agreement as well as President Obama’s Clean Energy Plan. The latter calls for cutting U.S. carbon emissions by 26-28 percent by 2025.