IUCN COMMISSION GROUP

IUCN SSC Climate Change Specialist Group

Overview and description

Description:: IUCN SSC Climate Change Specialist Group Changes have already been observed in a wide range of components of the Earth’s climate system (Garcia et al., 2014b), and ongoing changes are predicted ...
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IUCN SSC Climate Change Specialist Group Changes have already been observed in a wide range of components of the Earth’s climate system (Garcia et al., 2014b), and ongoing changes are predicted, including in long term climate patterns and trends, the magnitude and frequency of acute extreme weather events, and secondary impacts such as loss of sea ice and sea-level rise. The IUCN SSC Climate Change Specialist Group (CCSG) exists to support and strengthen nature conservation in a changing climate.

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Group leadership

Dr Wendy FODEN

Chair

More about the Specialist Group

The Climate Change Specialist Group (CCSG) aims to have made a significant contribution to strengthening nature conservation in a changing climate. By fostering collaboration between climate change and biodiversity experts working at the interface between science, policy and practice, we hope to: (1) provide the IUCN Species Survival Commission with strategic guidance, support and information on climate change related risks to biodiversity and conservation responses; (2) promote coordinated responses to climate change within and among the IUCN Species Survival Commission, IUCN Programmes and IUCN partner organisations; and (3) catalyse and support sound science, effective policy and evidence-based conservation practice informed by a deeper understanding of climate change, its impacts on biodiversity and the responses required. Through the activities our group carries out, we will advance: (a) understanding of climate change impacts, (b) assessment of vulnerability, (c) development of adaptation responses, and (d) climate change policy.

The key objectives of this group are to

Provide the IUCN Species Survival Commission with strategic guidance, support and information on climate change related risks to biodiversity and conservation responses
To promote coordinated responses to climate change within and among the IUCN Species Survival Commission, IUCN programmes and IUCN partner organizations
To catalyse and support sound science, effective policy and evidence-based conservation practice informed by a deeper understanding of climate change, its impacts on biodiversity, and the responses required.

The IUCN SSC Climate Change Specialist Group has three key objectives:

To provide the IUCN Species Survival Commission with strategic guidance, support and information on climate change related risks to biodiversity and conservation responses
To promote coordinated responses to climate change within and among the IUCN Species Survival Commission, IUCN programmes and IUCN partner organizations
To catalyse and support sound science, effective policy and evidence-based conservation practice informed by a deeper understanding of climate change, its impacts on biodiversity, and the responses required.

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Specialist Group work

The overall goal of this theme is to assess the vulnerability of species to future climate change. Our activities for the next few years are organized in three related directions; species assessments, vulnerability science, and guidance and tools.

Understanding the threat to Climate Change

CCSG has shown how species are evolving in response to warmer temperatures, that the timing of biological events has changed, and that the distribution and abundance of species has shifted through time, affecting the structure of ecological communities.

Threats of climate change. Credit: IUCN SSC Climate Change Specialist Group (CCSG).