Biodiversity conservation law and climate change adaptation

Australia is home to a rich diversity of life, including a great many species and ecological communities that occur nowhere else on Earth. However, this biodiversity is in a rapid decline, driven by threats such as habitat loss and the impacts of invasive species. Climate change will exacerbate these existing threats. In many cases, climate-driven changes to temperature, rainfall and extreme events will exceed the capacity of species and ecological communities to adapt. Australia’s environmental laws must be equipped to anticipate and respond to these climate-driven changes. This article highlights key climate change challenges for biodiversity and Australia’s conservation laws, and argues for a stronger focus on climate adaptation in law. In particular, such a focus would require a renewed commitment to implementing existing conservation laws; integrating climate change as a fundamental consideration in conservation decision-making; and legal reform to enable proactive, human interventions to facilitate adaptation.