Agência Brasil, 9 April 2025

Climate crisis could cause new mass extinction, says researcher

If humanity fails to reverse the impacts of climate change, Earth could face a mass extinction event comparable to that of the Permian Period (299 to 251 million years ago), when approximately 90 percent of species perished under extreme conditions. The warning comes from Hugh Montgomery, director of the Centre for Human Health and Performance at University College London and one of the authors of the 2024 Lancet scientific report on health and climate change.

He opened the Forecasting Healthy Futures Global Summit, an international event on health and climate that began on Tuesday (Apr. 8) in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil was selected to host the meeting in light of its role as the upcoming host of the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in November.