Many experts today say we’re in the midst of the 6th mass extinction, a relatively short period of time when a high percentage of biodiversity dies out. To be clear, we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of species and an extinction event bigger than anything our planet has seen for over 65 million years when dinosaurs walked the earth. A recent study in the journal, Science, looked at 30 years of research across hundreds of species and showed the close link between climate change and biodiversity loss. It projects that if we can achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, 1 in 50 species will go extinct by the end of the century. Meanwhile, if current emission trends continue, mass extinction could claim as many as 1 in 3 species on Earth.

Sorry to start with such sobering data, but the threat to biodiversity is not talked about enough and the stakes need to be known.

There is, of course, hope and it lies with people like Brett Jenks. Brett is the CEO of a global conservation and climate change nonprofit called Rare. They’ve been around for 50 years, work in 60 different countries, and yet, are often behind the scenes. Rare has helped save species and ecosystems, and through that work have learned that their approach can contribute to systemic change. For them, it all begins with understanding people and how to change our behavior. I spoke with Brett about his background, Rare’s approach and impact, their conservation efforts, and how they’re working upstream to change finance, policy, and culture.

Despite the stakes and the difficult challenge we face, I found this conversation to be quite inspiring and I certainly learned a ton from Brett. Enjoy.

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