Endangered species list grows by 2,000. Climate change is part of the problem

By MICHAEL PHILLIS
Associated Press

The International Union for Conservation of Nature, the leading tracker of global biodiversity, released their new Red List of Threatened Species on Monday at the United Nations climate conference in Dubai. They evaluated about 157,000 species and found that a little over 44,000 are threatened with extinction. That’s an increase from last year’s assessment. IUCN leaders said climate change is making environments more threatening for thousands of species. Humans need to reverse the trend and phase out fossil fuels, IUCN’s director general Grethel Aguilar said. Amphibians are particularly at risk, with 41% under threat of extinction.