The global climate changes we are seeing around the world are affecting not only human populations, as drought hit parts of the world and Europe faced its hottest summer on record, while Pakistan battled floods, but also wildlife and the biodiversity that this brings to the ecological system which keeps our planet running. According to WWF experts, Africa suffered a 66 per cent fall in wildlife as a result of climate change, the Asia Pacific region faced a 55 per cent drop, and freshwater species fell by some 88 per cent around the world. This includes species which live in lakes, rivers, and other sources of freshwater.

The loss is crippling for the entire system, which keeps earth running and keeps the food chain in good order. The loss of one species means that other species lose their supply of food and there is now an even greater danger for more species going extinct around the world. This is a very real problem and one that has to be dealt with by controlling climate change. The world will have to cooperate together to manage this. So far, there has not been a great deal of success in managing the problem. And this is mostly due to the mindless plundering and greed the Global North has indulged in over decades.

As developing countries have pointed out, it is the developed world which needs to control emissions most urgently in order to keep the ecosystem sustainable and to prevent climate change that has seen temperatures climb higher and higher. This rise in temperature in itself affects species and their ability to survive in the conditions they are accustomed to. This is also why – among a million other reasons – the issue of climate change needs to be taken up far more seriously. We can already see this with the floods hitting our country as well as the situation in other parts of the globe. There is now very little time to waste. An 88 per cent drop in freshwater species is devastating. There needs to be a very rapid adjustment to the newest crisis that we face and a genuine attempt to save Planet Earth before we lose it. We must remember: this is our only home and it is on us to save the flora and fauna that make it what it is.