“We are going to lose species. The polar bear will likely not survive”

Recognized with the 17th BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Climate Change, biologist Camille Parmesan explains how her research has shown that climate change leaves an unmistakable imprint on nature: half of all species in oceans, on land, and in lakes are shifting toward the poles, to higher altitudes, or to deeper waters, while advancing their reproduction and migration in response to global warming. She emphasizes that this pattern cannot be explained by other human factors such as habitat loss or pollution and calls for rethinking biodiversity conservation with more dynamic, flexible approaches, including movement corridors and new preservation strategies.

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Climate Change and Environmental Sciences category, in its seventeenth edition, went to Camille Parmesan for pioneering studies showing that wild species shift their geographical ranges in response to climate change.