Biodiversity and Climate Change: A regional assessment of scientific knowledge and policy options

Biodiversity underlies nature's contributions to people (also known as ecosystem services), including food, water, health, hazard protection, and cultural values. Climate change is among the primary drivers of biodiversity loss, and well-managed biodiversity conservation can contribute to climatechange mitigation and adaptation. Understanding the interplay between climate change and biodiversity is critical for the implementation of effective and lasting solutions to climate change and for maintaining biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people. The US Geological Survey (USGS), the nation’s largest water, earth, and biological science agency, was charged by the US Congress in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget with conducting an assessment that characterizes the state of understanding concerning linkages between climate change and biodiversity for the United States.