On Tuesday 17th April, the APPG on Endangered Species hosted the launch of WWF’s new report – Wildlife in a Warming World at Portcullis House
The event heard from Stephen Cornelius, Chief Adviser on Climate Change at WWF, who highlighted the threat to species if action isn’t taken to tackle climate change. The report shows how even with the emissions cuts pledged under the Paris Agreement, temperatures that were extreme in the past are set to be the new normal around the world. This puts a huge 50% of species at risk of local extinction.
Ben Stafford, Head of Public Affairs at WWF, congratulated the Government for maintaining its commitment to meet the UK’s much-needed climate targets. The upcoming 10th anniversary of the Climate Change Act demonstrates the UK’s leadership on such issues. However, he emphasised that more can be done to protect and restore the natural world, upon which our prosperity relies.
Moving away from polluting fossil fuel vehicles to fully embrace electric vehicles is one such option that was discussed. Ending the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles in 2030 instead of 2040 would cut over half of the emissions gap to meet the Fifth Carbon budget, and cut UK’s biggest single contributor to our annual emissions – transport. Read more about the impacts in WWF’s latest report on electric vehicles.
The event also emphasised that the next two years will be paramount in restoring nature, as key discussions will be taking place around the Sustainable Development Goals, Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). As host to Commonwealth leaders this week, WWF hopes the Government will build on the current momentum around sustainability issues to lead the ambition needed in 2020 to agree and enforce targets to restore nature.
