Nationally Determined Commitments (NDCs) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 2015 Paris Agreement underscore the role protected areas and other conserved areas play in reaching global mitigation and adaptation targets. 

The Living Planet Report documents the state of the planet—including biodiversity, ecosystems, and demand for natural resources—and what it means for humans and wildlife. Published by WWF every two years, the report brings together a variety of research to provide a comprehensive view of the health of the Earth.

Up to half of plant and animal species in the world’s most naturally rich areas, such as the Amazon and the Galapagos, could face local extinction by the turn of the century due to climate change if carbon emissions continue to rise unchecked.

A new report from WWF, Ceres, Calvert Investments and David Gardiner and Associates finds that 43%, or 215 of the companies in the Fortune 500, have set climate and/or clean energy targets.

This report presents climate risk information including observed climate and future projections of temperature, rainfall, sea level rise and various extreme events, and outlines how this information can be used in decision-making.

Giant pandas have a small population size, long generation time, low reproductive rate, and feed almost exclusively on bamboo, all of which make them less able to adapt to a changing climate. Explore these and other traits which make giant pandas vulnerable to climate change, as well as recommended climate-adaptive management strategies.

The Living Planet Report, produced every two years by WWF, is a comprehensive study of trends in global biodiversity and the health of the planet. By providing an overview of the state of the natural world, human impacts and potential solutions, it aims to support governments, communities, businesses and organizations to make informed decisions on using and protecting the planet’s resources.

Climate change is already changing the Arctic, and current carbon reduction commitments will not be enough to stop this transformation cold. This executive summary of a July 2016 Columbia Climate Center workshop details why global leaders must focus on helping the region adapt and accelerate a reduction in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Climate change is already changing the Arctic, and current carbon reduction commitments will not be enough to stop this transformation cold. Instead, world leaders must focus on helping the region adapt and accelerate a reduction in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This paper summarizes the outcomes of this workshop and highlights how world leaders can move forward.

A new report from WWF highlights important signs that an unstoppable global energy transition is underway. The report notes that the recently agreed Paris Agreement on climate change draws a line in the sand for the transformation of the world’s energy system into a clean and sustainable form.

Extreme weather events are adding a new, ominous threat to the monarch butterflies’ key wintering habitat in Mexico, according to a report by the WWF-Telmex-Telcel Alliance, the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas, and the Institute of Biology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

The Paris Agreement, signed by nations around the world in December 2015, is a comprehensive approach to combat climate change. The agreement includes a framework—known as REDD+--for reducing deforestation and forest degradation and increasing carbon storage in forests. In this publication, learn about REDD+ so you can take action to implement and support REDD+ initiatives.

A new study by twelve international and Indonesian NGOs, including WWF, shows that in spite of its high-profile commitment to “zero deforestation”, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) is building one of the world’s largest pulp mills in the Indonesian province of South Sumatra without a sustainable wood supply.

WWF’S Rapid Assessment of Circus-Arctic Ecosystem Resilience (RACER) presents a new tool for identifying and mapping places of conservation importance throughout the Arctic. This introductory handbook is intended as a general roadmap to the RACER method. It describes the approach and its use of the best available data to create maps of arctic key features as targets for future conservation efforts.

Monarch butterflies are highly sensitive to weather and climate, however, they also have a high capacity to adapt to longer term changes in climate. Explore this and other traits which make monarch butterflies vulnerable to climate change, as well as recommended climate-adaptive management strategies.

Polar bears rely almost entirely on the sea ice environment for traveling, hunting, mating and resting. Global warming and subsequent ice loss has been most pronounced in the Arctic, and this trend is projected to continue. Explore this and other traits which make polar bears vulnerable to climate change, as well as recommended climate-adaptive management strategies.

Asian elephant habitat is threatened by invasive plants such as Lantana sp., which may further thrive under changing climatic conditions. Explore this and other traits which make Asian elephants vulnerable to climate change, as well as recommended climate-adaptive management strategies.

Snow leopards might be resilient to many of the direct impacts of climate change, but face increasing pressure as humans and livestock shift their activities to higher elevations. Explore this and other traits which make snow leopards vulnerable to climate change, as well as recommended climate-adaptive management strategies for snow leopard range areas. (3 page Brochure)

Mountain gorillas live in a very restricted geographic range, and face pressure from surrounding human settlements who themselves are increasingly impacted by climate change. Explore this and other traits which make mountain gorillas vulnerable to climate change, as well as recommended climate-adaptive management strategies.

African elephants need up to 300 liters of water a day, just for drinking. Changing rainfall patterns in Africa and increased water scarcity pose a serious threat. Explore this and other traits which make African elephants vulnerable to climate change, as well as recommended climate-adaptive management strategies.

The Living Planet Report documents the state of the planet—including biodiversity, ecosystems, and demand on natural resources—and what this means for humans and wildlife. Published by WWF every two years, the report brings together a variety of research to provide a comprehensive view of the health of the earth.

This report from WWF, funded by USAID, outlines how communities and ecosystems in snow leopard range areas of Asia’s high mountains are vulnerable to climate change impacts such as increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather to shifts in rainfall seasonality and increasing rates of glacial melt. Based on the latest science, the report summarizes existing adaptation efforts and provides recommendations for the future action. (104 page Technical Report)

Cities in Illinois have harnessed a little-known local energy model called Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) to switch to clean power and save their ratepayers millions of dollars.

A series of maps and analysis from WWF, funded by USAID, that explore the links between climate change, snow leopard habitat, and water provision across the 12 snow leopard range countries in Asia.  The map book provides new insight into how snow leopard range, which forms the headwaters of 20 major river basins, benefits downstream settlements, and how water provision is now threatened by climate change. (91 page Technical Report)