Climate change, extinction risk, and public policy

Abstract

When initial estimates of the extinction risk from climate change appeared, there was immediate public and media interest. Authors of Thomas et al. appeared on CNN, BBC, and other major national and international television networks. Newspaper headlines, often front page, appeared on the day of the report's release. Magazine, radio, and other media treatments of the subject followed for weeks after. But to what extent was this media interest driven by policy relevance, and to what extent were the implications of the extinction risk estimates taken up in policy dialogue?