Memorandum for the Petitioners | 82 are vulnerable to ongoing climate change and weather and climate extremes , to different extents.» 350 8.27. The IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services also states that climate change is a direct driver that is increasingly exacerbating the impact of other drivers on nature and human well-being. 351 “The impacts of climate change have contributed to widespread impacts in many aspects of biodiversity, including species distribution, phenology, population dynamics, community structure and ecosystem function. According to observational evidence, these effects are accelerating in marine, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems and are already impacting agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, and nature’s contributions to people.»352 r r 8.28. Climate change is already forcing biodiversity to adapt by shifting habitats, changing life cycles, or developing new physical traits.353 The IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services also states that “climate change is projected to become increasingly important as a direct driver of changes in nature and its contributions to people in the next decades Even for global warming of 1.5°C to 2°C, the majority of terrestrial species ranges are projected to shrink dramatically.... Therefore, scenarios show that limiting global warming to well below 2°C plays a critical role in reducing adverse impacts on nature and its contributions to people.»354 8.29. Projected adverse impacts of climate change on forests include increased occurrence of forest fires, which will put the forests at risk and increased occurrence of pests and diseases and loss of thousands of species. With the reduction of the forest area, ecosystem services such as biodiversity, water, climate regulation, soil and water purification, recreational, cultural and spiritual benefits provided by the forests will also decrease.355 Tropical forests, like the ones in the Philippines, also have the largest potential to mitigate climate change amongst the world’s forests through conservation of existing carbon pools (e.g. prevention of deforestation ) and expansion of carbon sinks.356 IPCC 2019, Summary for Policymakers: Climate Change and Land, supra note 1 1 1 , Sec. A 1 .2. IPBES , Diaz , J., Settele, E ., el al . (2019), Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science- Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (hereinafter, “IPBES 2019”), Sec. B2, available at https://www. ipbes.net/system /tdPipbes_7_ l O add- 1 - advance _0 .pdf ? file= 1 &type =node&id =35245 ( last accessed on 12 September 2019). 352 Ibid. 353 Ibid. 354 Ibid. 355 Lasco, R., et al (June 2008 ), Climate Change and Forest Ecosystems in the Philippines: Vulnerability, Adaptation and Mitigation, Journal of Environmental Science and Management , available at https://www . researchgate.net/publication/237298215_Climate_Change_and _Forest_Ecosystems_in_the _Ph ilippines_Vulnerability_Adaptation _and _Mitigation ( last accessed on 12 September 2019). 356 Ibid, p. 6. 350 351