Climate change is causing a major redistribution of life on Earth

Climate change is causing a global reshuffling of species, with land species moving toward poles at 17km per decade and ocean species at 78km per decade. This redistribution disrupts ecological communities and human activities, such as coffee and wine production, and threatens the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The author emphasizes that these shifts can create dangerous climate feedbacks, such as the 'Greening of the Arctic', and calls for a recalibration of national development plans and conservation strategies to address these novel ecological realities.

• Climate change is causing a universal redistribution of life on Earth, with species shifting locations to maintain preferred environmental conditions. On average, terrestrial species are moving toward the poles at 17km per decade, while marine species are moving at 78km per decade. Some land species are also moving to higher, cooler elevations, and certain fish are moving deeper into the ocean.
• The redistribution of species creates new ecological communities and disrupts existing dependencies, leading to unpredictable consequences. For instance, the expansion of tropical plant-eating fish can devastate kelp forests, which in turn harms biodiversity and fisheries.
• Species redistribution can trigger climate feedbacks that accelerate warming. The 'Greening of the Arctic', where shrubs replace mosses and lichens, reduces the surface reflectivity of the earth, leading to further warming. Additionally, the poleward shift of mangroves and the weakening of Arctic sea algae blooms may reduce the amount of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere through biological carbon sequestration.
• The movement of species has direct socio-economic impacts, including the shift of coffee-growing regions to higher altitudes and the emergence of sparkling wine production in Britain. While some areas benefit, such as northern India seeing a northward shift in oil sardines, others suffer, such as the projected decline of skipjack tuna in the western Pacific, which threatens food security and economic development.
• Current global and national frameworks are insufficient to address these changes. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals do not adequately account for climate-driven species redistribution, and national development plans, conservation priorities, and economic strategies must be recalibrated to reflect these natural system impacts.

APA

McDonald, G. P. A. V. E. P. J. (2017). Climate change is causing a major redistribution of life on Earth. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/life-on-earth-is-getting-a-major-redistribution-and-the-consequences-are-serious/

Chicago

McDonald, Gretta Pecl, Adriana Vergés, Ekaterina Popova, Jan. Climate change is causing a major redistribution of life on Earth. World Economic Forum, 2017. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/life-on-earth-is-getting-a-major-redistribution-and-the-consequences-are-serious/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=McDonald |first1=Gretta Pecl, Adriana Vergés, Ekaterina Popova, Jan |title=Climate change is causing a major redistribution of life on Earth |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=11 April 2017 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/life-on-earth-is-getting-a-major-redistribution-and-the-consequences-are-serious/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{mcdonald2017climate, author = {McDonald, Gretta Pecl, Adriana Vergés, Ekaterina Popova, Jan}, title = {{Climate change is causing a major redistribution of life on Earth}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2017}, month = apr, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/life-on-earth-is-getting-a-major-redistribution-and-the-consequences-are-serious/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }