IUCN Director General’s statement on World Environment Day 2026 - IUCN

On World Environment Day 2026, IUCN urges the global community to embrace this year’s theme of 'climate action' by listening to our most vital messenger. Nature is speaking, and its warnings are clear: the climate crisis is no longer a distant threat. Record heatwaves, uncontrolled wildfires and melting glaciers are bringing species closer to extinction and degrading the ecosystems we rely on for our survival every day. What message are we sending back?

A recent warning from the natural world came via the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ last April. Two of Antarctica’s most iconic species, the emperor penguin and the Antarctic fur seal, are now Endangered due to climate change. Low levels of sea-ice are wiping out entire penguin colonies, while seals are finding it increasingly hard to hunt krill due to warmer sea temperatures.

When we turn our attention to land and sea ecosystems, the message strikes a similar tone. Climate threats now affect more than 40% of natural World Heritage Sites, some of the most outstanding places on Earth that support climate regulation and provide cultural and economic benefits to communities around the world. In fact, climate change has now surpassed all other threats to these extraordinary areas, according to IUCN’s latest World Heritage Outlook report.

But these and other alerts are not falling on deaf ears.

Last year has shown that renewable energy is now a reality, with solar and wind generation outpacing electricity demand growth, thereby preventing an increase in fossil-fuel generation.

To ensure the energy transition works for both the climate and nature, IUCN is devising a range of innovative solutions with our Members, partners and donors. Examples include advanced technologies and ecological monitoring to minimise the impact of wind turbines on birds and bats, and rethinking offshore wind farm design to create new habitats for fish and other marine life.