Climate Change Committee

Established in 2023, the aim of the ISME Climate Change Committee is to bring global attention to the discipline and practitioners of microbial ecology in addressing the climate change emergency, and to inform the world on the importance of microorganisms in creating climate change solutions. This ad-hoc committee of the ISME Society includes researchers at all career stages from around the world, representing all major areas of microbial ecology. This group focuses on the three pillars of 1) speaking, 2) writing, and 3) actions; activities to mobilize climate change responses on multiple levels and in all regions. Specific long-term goals of the committee include representation at the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) and inclusion in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports.

1. Speaking

Upcoming Conference Presentations:

• 16 June 2024 – ASM Microbe Symposium on Climate Change Microbiology
• 19 August 2024 – ISME 19 Symposium Roundtable on Climate Change Microbiology
• 23 October 2024 – IUMS 2024 Conference ‘How Microbiology Societies are Changing the Climate Conversation’

2. Writing

Planned Perspective Articles:

• Microbiology at the Brink: A Global Task Force for Action Against the Climate Catastrophe – Submitted to multiple journals for cross-publication
• Microbiology Society Task Force to Combat Climate Change (tentative title) – perspective in preparation for mSphere

Planned Contributions:

• IPCC reports: inclusion of microbiology
• The ISME Journal (planned for 2024): special collection of articles on climate change microbial ecology

3. Actions

• Platform for Microbiology Societies at COP30 in Brazil, 2025
• Ongoing engagement with stakeholders to promote ISME CCC initiatives
• Use and grow regional ISME Ambassador Program around the globe to respond to climate change actions
• Participation in other major decision making meetings for climate polity (e.g. Davos Economic Forum)

Resources

Relevant articles:

• Microbiologists at COP28 Push for a Seat at the Climate-Policy Table. 2023. Nature
• Microbiology Must be Represented at Climate Change Talks. 2023. Nature Microbiology
• Role of Microbes in Mediating Methane Emissions. 2023. Report on an American Academy of Microbiology Colloquium held on 31 May and 1 June 2023. Washington (D.C.): American Society for Microbiology
• Capturing Methane from the Air: Can it be Done? 2023. Science News
• Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: Microorganisms and Climate Change. 2019. Nature Reviews Microbiology

Other Climate Change Microbiology Programs

• Ocean Negative Carbon Emissions (ONCE)

Contact us to find out more about the ISME Climate Change Committee.