COP30 must protect the stability of Earth’s two richest biomes – the Amazon rainforest and the coral reefs

With only a few hours of COP30 negotiations remaining, scientists – as well as activists, Indigenous Peoples, political and business leaders – have come together to urge Heads of Delegation to deliver a clear roadmap to phase out fossil fuels and to protect tropical forests.

Science has sounded the alarm for decades: Earth’s most biodiverse-rich ecosystems on land and in the ocean, the Amazon rainforest and tropical coral reefs, are under intolerable pressures. 

In the past two years alone, the Amazon experienced one of the worst droughts in recorded history. Science shows human-driven climate change made this drought 30 times more likely than without human interference. The Amazon also recorded its highest number of fires in nearly two decades, more than 140,000 forest fires, the vast majority of them caused by humans, burning millions of hectares of forest, releasing vast amounts of carbon, and severely impacting human health. 

The dual pressure from fossil fuel emissions and deforestation is pushing the Amazon towards irreversible change. When the Amazon degrades and large parts shift from carbon sink to source, the entire planet will feel the heat. 

Tropical coral reefs, the cradles of one-third of all marine life, are at, or very close to reaching a tipping point. Ocean heat and acidification, driven by fossil fuel emissions, are tearing these ecosystems apart. The world has already lost 30 to 50% of its reefs. In just the last three years, more than 80% have been severely bleached, weakening the lifelines of countless coastal communities that depend on them for food and livelihoods.

This weekend, the people of Belém carried that warning into the streets with a colorful roar. Our message is clear: the loss of coral reefs and the degradation of the Amazon rainforest, as one of Earth’s greatest climate stabilizers, impacts us all. Here in the Amazon, COP30 must ignite a global effort to protect life in all its forms. Countries must unite to deliver roadmaps to phase out fossil fuels and to halt and reverse forest loss. This necessitates holding on to the COP30 mission 1.5.

This article is also published on the Planetary Science Pavilion page. illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability & Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.

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