The usual avenues for addressing and adapting to climate change–like protecting forests and ramping up clean energy sources–typically overlook one powerful solution: rivers. Rivers and their floodplains have the potential to act as shock absorbers to climate change, and are powerful agents for keeping wildlife and communities healthy and resilient. The most effective climate action plans will account for this and incorporate rivers into their plans for a climate-resilient future, argues Michele Thieme, a freshwater scientist at World Wildlife Fund. This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay. This past December marked the 5th anniversary of the landmark Paris Agreement. Soon after, the Biden Administration rejoined the Paris Agreement as one of their first actions in office. And in January, the Climate Adaptation Summit once again convened global leaders and local stakeholders to accelerate adaptation action. As these milestones reinvigorate a call to action for our politicians and business leaders to act on climate and “ramp up climate ambition,” all eyes inevitably turn to the usual avenues for addressing and adapting to climate change: forests, clean energy and waving goodbye to our toxic relationship with fossil fuels. And while mitigation efforts […]
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