Climate to drive species from house and home OVER half the world's plants and one-third of animals face losing at least half their natural range over the next six decades, new modelling suggests. An international study reported today in the journal Nature Climate Change predicts a massive reduction in natural "living space" unless carbon emissions are drastically reduced. The analyses of almost 50,000 species suggest about 55 per cent of plants and 35 per cent of animals will lose half or more of their "present climatic range" by the 2080s. "Without mitigation, large range contractions can be expected even amongst common and widespread species, amounting to a substantial global reduction in biodiversity by the end of this century," the paper says. The projected climatic range losses ... demonstrate clearly that climate change would have an impact even on more widespread species, in addition to the species with restricted ranges that have been the main focus of previous studies. The study, by scientists from the UK, Australia and Colombia, found that emission reduction policies could reduce the damage by up to 60 per cent. But this would require quick action, with emissions peaking in 2016 and falling 5 per cent a year thereafter. Delaying the peak in emissions to 2030 would only avoid 40 per cent of the habitat loss, the study found. It found that early action would buy time for species to adapt to the new climatic conditions, and avoid the need for even more intense mitigation later on. "The date of peak emissions is arguably more important than the overall amount in terms of reduced impacts and the adaptation time that can be bought," it says. Stringent early mitigation not only reduces the level of risk to the taxa, it also postpones the changes that would otherwise be incurred by the late 2030s to the 2080s, thus buying approximately four decades for autonomous or planned adaptation. The study found frogs were the animals at most risk from climate change, with at least 50 per cent of amphibian species projected to lose at least half of their range. And Australia was among the regions most likely to benefit from climate change mitigation strategies, along with sub-Saharan Africa, Central America and the Amazon basin. Climate change will significantly increase habitable areas for some animals, with about 4 per cent of species projected to gain at least 50 per cent more climatic range, the study found. But these gains will not offset the losses incurred by many more species. The researchers said their estimates were probably conservative and did not fully allow for the "compounding effects" of increases in extreme weather events, pests, diseases and barriers to dispersal. "In particular, our estimates for animals will be underestimated owing to their dependence on plants," the paper says.