Unite climate and nature policies to prevent costly clashes and protect communities - Zoological Society of London

Current climate and nature policies are working at cross-purposes, warn the authors behind a major new report led by our team – urging that alignment is key to protecting people’s health and livelihoods.

Published today (2 June 2026), The Risks of Climate-Nature Silos, authored by leading scientists and policy experts from 13 countries across the globe, cautions that fragmented environmental policies are creating costly failures, missed opportunities and unintended damage - all at a time when planetary boundaries are rapidly being crossed.

A critical time for nature and climate

Announced following a record-breaking heatwave across Europe, accelerating biodiversity decline and worsening land degradation, the audit arrives at a critical moment. The year 2026 is expected to be pivotal for environmental diplomacy as the three Rio Conventions - on climate change, biodiversity and desertification - convene to shape future global action.

The authors are calling on policy makers and governments to seize this opportunity for a joined-up approach to accelerate progress – and outline the steps needed.

Unifying environmental policy

Building on our previous work calling for a unified approach, the report auditing the risks of misaligned environmental policy argues that governments, institutions and funders must urgently stop treating climate, biodiversity and land degradation as separate challenges.

Instead, they should be addressed as part of a single interconnected “nature–climate system” that underpins human wellbeing, economic security and Earth system stability.