{"id":421584,"date":"2026-01-16T10:45:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T09:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=421584"},"modified":"2026-01-16T10:45:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T09:45:15","slug":"new-study-species-extinction-rates-declining-since-1980-climate-change-is-not-an-important-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=421584","title":{"rendered":"New Study: Species Extinction Rates Declining Since 1980 \u2013 \u2018Climate Change Is Not an Important Threat\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From No Trick Zone<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Kenneth Richard<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRemarkably, we found here that species-level extinctions related to climate change have not significantly increased over the last approximately 200 years.\u201d  \u2013 Saban and Wiens, 2025<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to many recent studies intended to alarm the public about the consequences of tenths-of-a-degree warmer surface air temperatures, \u201c20-30% of all plant and animal species may be lost to climate change in future decades\u201d (Saban and Wiens, 2025<\/a><\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A landmark 2004 study<\/a><\/strong> published in Nature<\/em> (which has now been cited over 10,000 times) predicted one million species will be driven to extinction by 2050<\/a><\/strong> due to climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But now a 2025 study published in The Royal Society<\/em> finds (a) \u201cclimate change is not an important threat to biodiversity,\u201d (b) species-level extinction rates \u201cpeaked many decades ago,\u201d and (c) there has been no significant increase in climate-related extinctions in the last 200 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ongoing habitat loss and the introduction of invasive species (primarily in the 18th and 19th centuries) on islands remain the two most predominant extinction threats in recent centuries. The authors express surprise that the threat from climate change (surface air temperature warming) has remained insignificant throughout the modern era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExtinctions from invasive species and (surprisingly) climate change did not change significantly over time.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[P]ast extinctions strongly suggest that climate change is not an important threat to biodiversity.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[T]hese past extinctions do not show biodiversity loss as rapidly accelerating, but instead show extinction rates that generally peaked many decades ago, and that declined in some important groups (arthropods, plants).\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost groups showed declining extinction rates after peaking in the 1980s.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Scientific
Image Source:\u00a0Saban and Wiens, 2025<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to many recent studies intended to alarm the public about the consequences of tenths-of-a-degree warmer surface air temperatures, \u201c20-30% of all plant and animal species may be lost to climate change in future decades\u201d (Saban and Wiens, 2025).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":421588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"Discover how recent studies reveal climate change's minimal impact on species extinction rates, challenging common perceptions of biodiversity threats.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Declining Species Extinction Rates: Climate Change Impact Diminished","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvY2xpbWF0ZS1zY2llbmNlLnByZXNzXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDI2XC8wMVwvMFNjcmVlbnNob3QtMjAyNi0wMS0xNi0xMDQxMTAtMTAyNHg4NTYucG5nIiwidHh0IjoiTmV3IFN0dWR5OiBTcGVjaWVzIEV4dGluY3Rpb24gUmF0ZXMgRGVjbGluaW5nIFNpbmNlIDE5ODAgXHUyMDEzIFx1MjAxOENsaW1hdGUgQ2hhbmdlIElzIE5vdCBhbiBJbXBvcnRhbnQgVGhyZWF0XHUyMDE5IiwidGVtcGxhdGUiOiJoaWdod2F5IiwiZm9udCI6IiIsImJsb2dfaWQiOjE1NTgxMjQ0OX0.-TsBar2wKZP4H46oEXQ89rR9wjk9TrphrHXBCMRSq00MQ"},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691840754,691821000,691818056,691839972,691840755,691840753,691822447],"class_list":["post-421584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-animals","tag-biodiversity","tag-climate-change","tag-extinction-crisis","tag-invasive-species","tag-plants","tag-the-royal-society","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0Screenshot-2026-01-16-104110.png?fit=1127%2C942&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1LFK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":416044,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=416044","url_meta":{"origin":421584,"position":0},"title":"Remember when they told you climate change was causing a \u2018mass extinction\u2019? Never mind!","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/04\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"From the\u00a0University of Arizona\u00a0and the \u201cEmily Litella er,\u00a0Greta Thunberg School of Climate Attribution\u201d comes this breath of fresh air. BTW, Willis\u00a0was right.","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0AQNDJTOEkiuOGrMs73KdjsZ7B3AY92HHsQaWcdPg266YWK1RX3KiM-udN0qfZwmwVw761t2sQ73GAJ35PktKrZtxcM25ldtXeIvRQOGdX7GMYm6qshCnBEMVhZ3aArxd-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C916&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0AQNDJTOEkiuOGrMs73KdjsZ7B3AY92HHsQaWcdPg266YWK1RX3KiM-udN0qfZwmwVw761t2sQ73GAJ35PktKrZtxcM25ldtXeIvRQOGdX7GMYm6qshCnBEMVhZ3aArxd-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C916&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0AQNDJTOEkiuOGrMs73KdjsZ7B3AY92HHsQaWcdPg266YWK1RX3KiM-udN0qfZwmwVw761t2sQ73GAJ35PktKrZtxcM25ldtXeIvRQOGdX7GMYm6qshCnBEMVhZ3aArxd-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C916&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0AQNDJTOEkiuOGrMs73KdjsZ7B3AY92HHsQaWcdPg266YWK1RX3KiM-udN0qfZwmwVw761t2sQ73GAJ35PktKrZtxcM25ldtXeIvRQOGdX7GMYm6qshCnBEMVhZ3aArxd-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C916&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0AQNDJTOEkiuOGrMs73KdjsZ7B3AY92HHsQaWcdPg266YWK1RX3KiM-udN0qfZwmwVw761t2sQ73GAJ35PktKrZtxcM25ldtXeIvRQOGdX7GMYm6qshCnBEMVhZ3aArxd-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C916&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":422526,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=422526","url_meta":{"origin":421584,"position":1},"title":"Climate Change is Not Causing Mass Extinctions, Says Bombshell Royal Society Paper","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/22\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"When the history of the great Net Zero climate hoax comes to be written, pride of place will be given to the terrifying sixth mass extinction scare. Mainstream media barely question the idea that human-controlled climate is wreaking havoc with the life chances of millions of animal and plant species\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"climate alarmism\"","block_context":{"text":"climate alarmism","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-alarmism"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0AQOVvf8azgd9dhGKZRD0LFueWveL1_10LQDwYtE8vFqaRgvhweHX-hSFAWvUIU-lvgzhSqTeTMmmgmdCd7a-7rPN_NFL-JCM5sEiIrFKLlPIOipfpFJ_ogUzv3OCr0BU-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0AQOVvf8azgd9dhGKZRD0LFueWveL1_10LQDwYtE8vFqaRgvhweHX-hSFAWvUIU-lvgzhSqTeTMmmgmdCd7a-7rPN_NFL-JCM5sEiIrFKLlPIOipfpFJ_ogUzv3OCr0BU-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0AQOVvf8azgd9dhGKZRD0LFueWveL1_10LQDwYtE8vFqaRgvhweHX-hSFAWvUIU-lvgzhSqTeTMmmgmdCd7a-7rPN_NFL-JCM5sEiIrFKLlPIOipfpFJ_ogUzv3OCr0BU-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0AQOVvf8azgd9dhGKZRD0LFueWveL1_10LQDwYtE8vFqaRgvhweHX-hSFAWvUIU-lvgzhSqTeTMmmgmdCd7a-7rPN_NFL-JCM5sEiIrFKLlPIOipfpFJ_ogUzv3OCr0BU-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0AQOVvf8azgd9dhGKZRD0LFueWveL1_10LQDwYtE8vFqaRgvhweHX-hSFAWvUIU-lvgzhSqTeTMmmgmdCd7a-7rPN_NFL-JCM5sEiIrFKLlPIOipfpFJ_ogUzv3OCr0BU-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":291159,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=291159","url_meta":{"origin":421584,"position":2},"title":"\u201cWe are rapidly crashing\u201d: Global Warming Extinction Claim","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/13\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Past global warm epochs were bursting with abundance and life, but apparently this time the computer models tell us we\u2019re all going to die.","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0klimakatastrophe-apokalypse-weltuntergang-hysterie-erderwaermung-bild.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0klimakatastrophe-apokalypse-weltuntergang-hysterie-erderwaermung-bild.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0klimakatastrophe-apokalypse-weltuntergang-hysterie-erderwaermung-bild.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0klimakatastrophe-apokalypse-weltuntergang-hysterie-erderwaermung-bild.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0klimakatastrophe-apokalypse-weltuntergang-hysterie-erderwaermung-bild.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":363655,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=363655","url_meta":{"origin":421584,"position":3},"title":"Study: Climate Change Did Not Drive Giant Kangaroos to Extinction","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/27\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Another mystery case of megafauna disappearing shortly after the arrival of humans with sharp sticks.","rel":"","context":"In \"Australia\"","block_context":{"text":"Australia","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=australia"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0-Procoptodon.jpeg?fit=1200%2C786&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0-Procoptodon.jpeg?fit=1200%2C786&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0-Procoptodon.jpeg?fit=1200%2C786&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0-Procoptodon.jpeg?fit=1200%2C786&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0-Procoptodon.jpeg?fit=1200%2C786&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":262131,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=262131","url_meta":{"origin":421584,"position":4},"title":"How CO2 Starvation and Plate Tectonics Caused the Greatest extinctions on Earth, the Permian","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/15\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Our current atmospheric concentrations are only 40% of the optimum. For that reason, modern commercial greenhouses raise CO2 to 1000 ppm for maximum crop yields. If CO2 concentrations fall below 150 ppm, then photosynthesis can stop completely. So, policies to sequester and lower CO2 must be very careful not to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/00extinction3.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/00extinction3.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/00extinction3.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/00extinction3.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/00extinction3.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":352341,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=352341","url_meta":{"origin":421584,"position":5},"title":"Conservation Successes Defy Climate Pessimism","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/26\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"When a purported climate crisis dominates much of the discourse of public policy, the trap of attributing every ecological issue to climate change easily ensnares anyone who fails to note the abundant evidence to the contrary.","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0shutterstock-1523681669.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0shutterstock-1523681669.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0shutterstock-1523681669.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0shutterstock-1523681669.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0shutterstock-1523681669.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=421584"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":421591,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421584\/revisions\/421591"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/421588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=421584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=421584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=421584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}