Impacts of climate change interventions on biodiversity, water, the food system and human health and well-being

Smith, Pete; Singh, Pramod K.; Ballal, Vedant P.; Cherubini, Francesco; Díaz‐José, Julio; Duchková, Helena; Gupta, Himangana; Hori, Masakazu; Ito, Akihiko; Khan, Shabana; Llope, Marcos; Tirado, Maria Cristina; Tourinho, Luara; Vale, Mariana M.; Xu, Xiyan; Chudasama, Harpalsinh; Eriksen, Siri H.; Mason‐D'Croz, Daniel; Phang, Sui Chian; Srivastava, Yash; van Huysen, Tiff L.; Ricketts, Taylor; Herrero, Mario; Harrison, Paula A.; McElwee, Pamela D.

Impacts of climate change interventions on biodiversity, water, the food system and human health and well-being

Smith, Pete ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3784-1124; Singh, Pramod K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2212-0583; Ballal, Vedant P.; Cherubini, Francesco; Díaz‐José, Julio; Duchková, Helena; Gupta, Himangana; Hori, Masakazu; Ito, Akihiko; Khan, Shabana; Llope, Marcos; Tirado, Maria Cristina; Tourinho, Luara ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0098-6415; Vale, Mariana M.; Xu, Xiyan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2732-1325; Chudasama, Harpalsinh; Eriksen, Siri H.; Mason‐D'Croz, Daniel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0673-2301; Phang, Sui Chian; Srivastava, Yash; van Huysen, Tiff L.; Ricketts, Taylor; Herrero, Mario; Harrison, Paula A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9873-3338; McElwee, Pamela D.. 2025 Impacts of climate change interventions on biodiversity, water, the food system and human health and well-being. Global Change Biology, 31 (9), e70444. 28, pp. 10.1111/gcb.70444

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70444

Abstract/Summary

Climate change threatens biodiversity, water, food and human health and well‐being. Rapid, sustained mitigation and adaptation actions can benefit all these elements of the nexus. Key transitions in energy, land and marine ecosystems, urban areas, industry and society are essential for climate change mitigation, adaptation and sustainable development. These transitions require interdisciplinary research, policy support and societal engagement. Here we present an assessment of 69 response options, a subset of which (15) was used in the climate change chapter of the IPBES Nexus Assessment. We show that the majority of climate change response options for land, oceans and ecosystems, settlement and infrastructure, industrial and societal system transitions have broadly positive impacts across the nexus. However, energy system transitions show more apparent trade‐offs. Most of these impacts result from energy infrastructure that would also be required for fossil fuel‐based systems and should be compared to the far more damaging consequences of continued fossil fuel use. Transitioning to cleaner, renewable energy sources reduces these risks and offers significant improvements across the nexus by reducing climate change impacts. Of the 69 response options assessed, 59% have entirely positive effects, or at least no negative effects, across all nexus elements and can be considered as low‐risk, immediately actionable options. The remaining 41% show either negative or variable impacts on at least one nexus element. However, this does not render them unviable; rather, their implementation must be carefully managed. Where impacts are variable, strategies should be tailored to ensure positive outcomes; where trade‐offs are unavoidable, efforts should focus on minimising negative effects and maximising synergies. Our findings suggest that prioritising policies that address the interconnected challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, pollution, food insecurity, access to clean water, energy for all and sustainable development will deliver more effective and equitable climate action.

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1111/gcb.70444

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Biodiversity and Land Use (2025-)

ISSN:

1354-1013

Additional Information:

Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.

Additional Keywords:

biodiversity, climate change, food, human health and well-being, IPBES, Nexus, synergy, trade-off, water