WWF Living Planet Report 2024: A Planet in Crisis

The WWF Living Planet Report 2024 highlights a global crisis, revealing a catastrophic decline of 73% in wildlife populations over the last 50 years, as measured by the Living Planet Index (LPI).

This decline, observed between 1970 and 2020, is a clear indication that our planet’s biodiversity is under immense threat, with severe consequences for ecosystems and human survival. The LPI, developed by the Zoological Society of London, monitors nearly 35,000 population trends across 5,495 species, exposing the grim reality: our natural world is in peril, and the systems we depend on are rapidly deteriorating.

The importance of biodiversity and the growing threats

Biodiversity is the foundation of healthy ecosystems that sustain life on Earth. Each species, no matter how small, plays a critical role in maintaining the delicate balance of nature. The complex interactions between species and their environments drive the functioning of ecosystems, providing essential services like clean air, water, pollination, and climate regulation. The loss of biodiversity is not just an environmental concern—it directly affects human health, livelihoods, and survival.

The report identifies habitat degradation and loss, driven primarily by our unsustainable food system, as the most significant threat to biodiversity worldwide. In the Arctic, however, climate change is the primary driver of biodiversity loss, exacerbating other environmental pressures in this already fragile region. The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the planet, leading to unprecedented temperature increases, rapid loss of summer sea ice, and ocean acidification.

Degradation leading to tipping points: many in the Arctic

The LPI is a crucial tool for understanding the health of ecosystems by monitoring changes in the size of animal populations over time. Declines in population sizes serve as early warning signs of rising extinction risks and the potential collapse of ecosystems. When ecosystems are degraded, they become more vulnerable to tipping points—thresholds beyond which they may undergo irreversible changes. Current trends indicate that several global tipping points, many in the Arctic, are fast approaching, with potentially catastrophic consequences for humanity and the planet.

One such tipping point is the melting of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets. These ice sheets hold enough water to raise global sea levels by several meters, with Greenland alone capable of contributing 7.2 metres. Such a rise would drastically reshape coastlines, threatening billions living in coastal regions with increased flooding and displacement.

Another looming tipping point is permafrost thaw. Permafrost, covering a quarter of the northern hemisphere, contains vast amounts of carbon locked in frozen organic material. As permafrost thaws, it releases carbon dioxide and methane—potent greenhouse gases that accelerate global warming.

The loss of Arctic summer sea ice, though not a tipping point itself, is already having devastating impacts. Summer Arctic sea ice is shrinking by 13 per cent per decade. If global temperatures rise beyond 1.5°C, as currently projected, the Arctic will most likely lose its summer sea ice by 2050, destroying critical habitats for species like polar bears. By 2100, polar bears in northern Canada could face starvation and reproductive failure. The Arctic’s rapidly changing climate is already altering wildlife behavior, with fish shifting their ranges and southern species, such as orcas, moving further north.

The urgency of immediate action

Crossing tipping points is not inevitable, but the window for action is closing rapidly. In 2023, Arctic surface air temperatures reached the sixth warmest since 1900, with summer temperatures setting new records. Arctic sea ice continues to decline, with recent years marking the lowest extents on record. Heavy precipitation events are becoming more frequent, and the Greenland ice sheet lost approximately 350 trillion pounds of mass between September 2022 and August 2023. That is equivalent to an ice block the size of the Eiffel tower melting every hour. These alarming trends underscore the urgent need for immediate and decisive action to address the climate and biodiversity crises.

The next five years are critical for the future of life on Earth. Achieving global targets—such as halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 as outlined in the Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022, and limiting global temperature rise to 1.5ºC under the Paris Agreement—demands bold and immediate action. Unfortunately, current national commitments and efforts fall far short of what’s necessary to meet these goals and prevent dangerous tipping points. To reach the Global Biodiversity Framework’s target of safeguarding 30 per cent of the planet’s lands, waters, and seas by 2030, a substantial expansion of effective protected areas is crucial. Presently, only 16 per cent of land and 8 per cent of oceans are protected, highlighting the urgency of the task ahead.

Governments must show bold action

Governments need to show strong leadership by implementing more ambitious national plans for climate action and biodiversity conservation. Countries are expected to submit updated National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) that align with the Global Biodiversity Framework before the COP16 conference in Cali, Colombia in a few weeks. However, most governments are currently falling short of the commitments they made in Montreal in 2022. To drive meaningful change by 2030, they must significantly intensify their efforts.

The WWF Living Planet Report 2024 is a call to action. The choices we make in the coming few years will determine the fate of our planet’s biodiversity and the future of life on Earth. We must act now to protect and restore nature, tackle climate change, and ensure a sustainable world for future generations.