Species and Climate Change: More than Just the Polar Bear

The Polar Bear has come to symbolise the impacts of climate change on the natural world. But it is only one of a multitude of species affected, and many of these are also well-known, much-loved and important to people. This report presents 10 new climate change flagship species, chosen to represent the impact that climate change is likely to have on land and in our oceans and rivers.

We cover some of the existing and anticipated threats to these 10 well-known species. They illustrate some of the many and varied ways that climate change impacts different regions of the world, from African deserts to the polar ice-caps. We hope these species can help to share the Polar Bear’s burden in representing the effects of climate change on our natural world, and the millions of species with whom we share the planet.