The projected effect on insects, vertebrates, and plants of limiting global warming to 1.5°C rather than 2°C

Abstract

In the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the United Nations is pursuing efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C, whereas earlier aspirations focused on a 2°C limit. With current pledges, corresponding to ∼3.2°C warming, climatically determined geographic range losses of >50% are projected in ∼49% of insects, 44% of plants, and 26% of vertebrates. At 2°C, this falls to 18% of insects, 16%of plants, and 8% of vertebrates and at 1.5°C, to 6% of insects, 8% of plants, and 4% of vertebrates.When warming is limited to 1.5°C as compared with 2°C, numbers of species projected to lose >50% of their range are reduced by ∼66% in insects and by ∼50% in plants and vertebrates.