Experts Urge Global Action on Microbial Climate Fixes

Washington, D.C. — Nov. 11, 2024 — Today, leaders from scientific societies, institutions and publishing bodies issued an urgent call for the global community and governments to take immediate and decisive emergency climate action. This appeal is made through an editorial published in mSystems , released on the opening day of the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29). Key contributors to this initiative include Virginia Miller, past president of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM); Jack Gilbert, Editor-in-Chief of mSystems; and Jay Lennon, Chair of the American Academy of Microbiology's Climate Change Task Force, among other scientists and experts.

The climate crisis continues to escalate at an alarming pace, underscoring the need for scalable, innovative solutions. Among the promising approaches are microbe-based technologies, which have demonstrated potential in various fields including carbon sequestration, methane mitigation, bioenergy production, bioremediation, microbial therapies and nitrogen management. However, these solutions have yet to be effectively adopted on a large scale, which is critical for combating the effects of climate change.

"Microbial solutions hold significant promise as part of an integrated approach to mitigating climate impacts," Lennon said. "What we need now is a coordinated effort to methodically deploy these technologies at scale and integrate them with other climate mitigation strategies."

The authors emphasize the need for cross-industry collaboration involving stakeholders from industry, scientific societies, funding bodies and policy-making institutions to effectively mobilize these microbe-based solutions. The editorial calls for the formation of a global science-based climate task force. This group, composed of representatives from scientific societies and muti-sectoral institutions, would serve to expedite the implementation of microbial strategies and provide rapid-response solutions to key stakeholders, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), COP organizers and governments worldwide.

In line with these efforts, ASM and the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) are preparing to release a comprehensive report from their Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) of global experts, many of whom are authors of the editorial, in early 2025. This report aims to outline further strategies and recommendations for the practical application of microbial solutions to climate challenges. The report will serve as a road map to fulfill the call in the editorial and bring the organizations toward policy actions.