Half of species in critical risk of extinction by 2100

More than one in four species on Earth now faces extinction, and that will rise to 50% by the end of the century unless urgent action is taken.

37,400

Scientists have labelled the biodiversity crisis as worse than the threat from climate change Over 37,000 species are directly threatened with extinction. That is 28 % of all species assessed.

Most threatened by extinction

Amphibians are under the highest threat but all groups of species are at risk.

• Amphibians: 41 %
• Conifers (type of land plants): 34 %
• Reef corals: 33 %
• Sharks and rays: 36 %
• Mammals: 26 %
• Birds: 14 %

...and it only gets worse from there

Global mass extinction could further accelerate by 2100 because of global warming caused by increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.  

“The Earth is set to cross a 'threshold of catastrophe' by the end of this century because of fossil fuels”.

- Professor Daniel Rothman, co-director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Species are becoming extinct faster now than at any point in modern history

The current rate of extinction is up to 10,000 times higher than the average historical extinction rates. We, the humans, are almost wholly responsible for this increase.

Species are disappearing as you read this

We don't know exactly how many species go extinct every year but it could be 100,000 - about 1 every 5 minutes.

It’s getting worse

The worsening and loss of biodiversity are projected to continue, and even accelerate.

Species on Earth

Estimates of the total number of species on Earth range from 8.7 million to a trillion. Of all the species that have existed on Earth at some point over the past 3.5 billion years, over 95% have gone extinct. That’s part of the natural process of evolution. The difference is that the current level of extinction is almost solely caused by one particular species - humans.

The extinction of species is just one consequence of a deeper problem: We are exploiting Earth far beyond what is sustainable.

What are the causes of the extinction of species?

Direct human activity and climate change is the cause of this - for example through the destruction of forests and coral reefs.

“Rich western countries are now siphoning up the planet’s resources and destroying its ecosystems at an unprecedented rate (...) We want to build highways across the Serengeti to get more rare earth minerals for our cellphones. We grab all the fish from the sea, wreck the coral reefs and put carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. We have triggered a major extinction event. The question is: how do we stop it?”

- Biologist Paul Ehrlich of Stanford University in California.

The main threats causing extinction of species

According to Nature, the main threats for biodiversity on Earth are:

• Exploitation: 37 % (hunting, fishing).
• Habitat degradation and change: 31 %
• Loss of habitat: 13 %
• Climate change: 7 %
• Invasive species: 5 %
• Pollution: 4 %
• Disease: 2 %

Possible mass extinction

There is a wide belief that a “mass extinction” is underway. Some predict that half of all living species could be gone within 100 years.

Who are they?

Within the next 15 to 40 years it is likely that the following animals will become extinct: polar bear, chimpanzee, elephant, snow leopard, tiger, mountain gorilla, orangutan, giant panda, rhino, and the koala bear. Unfortunately, these are just a few of many…