South Middlesex Times

Pamela McElwee, a professor at Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, has dedicated 25 years to studying human adaptation to global environmental changes. She has advised the White House, U.S. Senate, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on environmental policy. Recently, as co-chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), she led the Nexus Assessment Report's completion and global adoption.

Released in December in Windhoek, Namibia, the report provides a comprehensive assessment for decision-makers worldwide on biodiversity, water, food, health, and climate change interconnections. It explores over sixty potential responses to address these issues.

McElwee expressed pride in leading this effort with 165 authors from 57 countries: "It’s been the honor of my lifetime to lead this effort... We collectively put three years of effort into this report."

The report is described as one of the most ambitious scientific assessments addressing current environmental, social, and economic crises. It highlights interconnected crises that make separate efforts ineffective: "current approaches to economic activity result in unaccounted for costs... equivalent to around 25% of global GDP."

Despite challenges in multilateral agreements last year and political shifts like the new Trump administration pulling out of the Paris Agreement, McElwee notes that all IPBES member countries approved the Nexus Assessment Report.

The report does not recommend specific actions but evaluates over seventy options providing co-benefits across various sectors. McElwee emphasizes local action: "there are many things that states and localities can do."

Preparation for this report spanned over three years with a cost exceeding $1.5 million. Teams assessed scientific literature across seven chapters covering trends in biodiversity, water, food, health, and climate change.

McElwee concluded by highlighting the significant contributions made by all involved over three years to produce findings aimed at tackling interlinked environmental crises.