Fossil Fuels are a threat to nature: IUCN

RITURAJ PHUKAN

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has become the first multilateral body to explicitly name fossil fuels as the root cause of the multiple planetary crises, ironically at a petrostate, the United Arab Emirates, which was the host nation for the biennial congress.

The World Conservation Congress last week passed Motion 042, which says that fossil fuel production is a threat to nature, along with other supporting votes calling for rapid transition to renewables.

The theme for the Congress was “Powering Transformative Conservation,” which focused on driving impactful dialogue, decisions, and initiatives for nature and people. The Congress focused on the five interlinked areas of i) Scaling Up Resilient Conservation Action, ii) Reducing Climate Overshoot Risks, iii) Delivering on Equity, iv) Transitioning to Nature-Positive Economies and v) Societies and Disruptive Innovation and Leadership for Conservation.

The much-talked-about Motion 042 was tabled by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), with civil society and Indigenous organizations’ support, including BirdLife International, the Coordinadora de la OrganizacionesIndígenas de la Cuenca Amazónica (COICA), and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). It called on states to phase out fossil fuels, including coal, oil, and gas, stop new extractions, and guarantee a just transition for affected workers and communities. The motion also called on states to support international agreements, such as a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, to address the “critical gap in global governance” regarding fossil fuel supply.

The IUCN congress also adopted Motion 141, which welcomed the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) recent advisory opinion and reiterated the states’ obligations to prevent climate harm and protect the rights of present and future generations. Another adopted vote, Motion 038, called for implementing the Paris Agreement’s goals, ensuring transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems “in a just, orderly and equitable manner.”

The updated IUCN Red List was released during the Congress, which now includes 172,620 species of which 48,646 are threatened with extinction. On the positive side, the green turtle is no longer in the endangered category, with a population increase of 28% since the 1970s. The list of ‘Extinct’ species includes the Christmas Island shrew, three Australian mammals – the Marl, the South-eastern Striped Bandicoot, and the Nullarbor Barred Bandicoot. Two plant species, Diospyros angulata and Delisseasinuata, have also been added to the list of ‘Extinct.’

For the first time, the Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) was evaluated separately, suggesting that it may be classified as a distinct species within the Canis genus. With an estimated population of around 3,093 (2,877-3,310) across India and Pakistan, it was listed in the “vulnerable” category on the Red List.

The IUCN Red List update includes reassessments of 1,360 bird species by BirdLife International. The assessment found that 61% of bird species have declining populations, with nearly 1,256 (11.5%) of the 11,185 species assessed marked as globally threatened. The most prevalent cause of bird population declines is habitat loss and degradation, driven especially by agricultural expansion and intensification and logging.

The slender-billed curlew, a migratory shorebird, has been declared extinct. Once common across Europe, North Africa and West Asia, the bird has not been officially sighted since 1995, when one was recorded in Morocco. The Indian roller, whose population has declined by 30% across India in the past 12 years, has now been upgraded on IUCN ‘Red List’ from ‘least concern’ to ‘near threatened.’

This year’s update focused on regions where the destruction of tropical forest poses a growing threat to birds. In Madagascar, 14 species were newly classified as near threatened, and three others were labelled vulnerable. In West Africa, five more bird species were found to be near threatened in addition to one more in Central America.

The new Red List assessments indicate that 15 percent of butterflies and about 10 percent of the wild bees in Europe face extinction. Habitat loss is the primary threat to European wild bees and butterflies, with prolonged hot days, droughts and extensive wildfires across southern Europe and encroachments in the bog and tundra habitats in Alpine and Boreal zones, the report revealed.

A global assessment of dugong status and conservation needs, released at the Congress, revealed the survival threat for dugongs in the Gulf of Kutch and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The report also flagged the rapid decrease in population of the sea mammals in the Gulf of Mannar–Palk Bay region.

The World Heritage Outlook 4 report has put the Western Ghats and two national parks in India-Manas National Park in Assam and Sundarbans National Park in West Bengal-on its list of ailing natural World Heritage sites across Asia. Four of the 32 Asian sites listed in the category of “good with some concerns” are in India: the Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area, Kaziranga National Park, Keoladeo National Park, and Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks.

The first ever in-person World Summit for Indigenous Peoples and Nature, organized as part of the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025, focused on the theme ‘Our Traditional Knowledge is the Language of Mother Earth’. The historic Indigenous Summit made clear that Indigenous Peoples are the stewards of life on Earth. As knowledge keepers, guardians of ancestral territories, and visionaries of sustainability, they are central to any conservation effort.

The IUCN also convened the first ever Business Summit with delegations from private and public sectors to share insights and solutions for delivering nature-positive outcomes. The 2025 IUCN Business Summit met with the aim of advancing collective ambition and action for accelerating the transition to nature-positive economies and societies.

The report revealed that climate change has now replaced hunting, which was the top threat in 2020, as the most prevalent threat for the natural World Heritage sites in Asia. On the brighter side, Sikkim’s Kanchenjunga National Park has been rated “good”, the only protected area among 11 sites in this category.

The announcement was made less than one month ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil, where policymakers are expected to experience increased pressure to integrate climate, biodiversity, and energy policy. According to observers, IUCN’s position may influence negotiations by presenting fossil fuel phase-out as both an essential measure for climate action and a critical requirement for conservation.

Rituraj Phukan: Founder, Indigenous People’s Climate Justice Forum; Co-Founder, Smily Academy ;National Coordinator for Biodiversity, The Climate Reality Project India; Member, IUCN Wilderness Specialist Group; Commission Member – IUCN WCPA Climate Change, IUCN WCPA Connectivity Conservation, IUCN WCPA Indigenous People and Protected Areas Specialist Groups, IUCN WCPA South Asia Region and IUCN WCPA-SSC Invasive Alien Species Task Force; Member, International Antarctic Expedition 2013; Climate Force Arctic 2019 ; Ambassador, Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary. Rituraj Phukan is the Climate Editor, Mahabahu and Convenor, Mahabahu Climate Forum.

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