This article explored how biodiversity - the variety of all life, from genes and species to ecosystems - is intimately linked to Earth's climate and, inevitably, to climate change. Biodiversity and poverty are also inextricably connected. It is clearly seen that conserving and managing biodiversity can help natural systems and vulnerable people cope with a shifting global climate. Yet compared to activities such as forest conservation and afforestation - widely noted as a way of sequestering carbon and cutting greenhouse gas emissions - biodiversity conservation is a neglected area. That must change: urgent support is needed for local solutions to biodiversity loss that provide benefits on all counts.
