Fig 1: Directionality of mechanistic links between climate change, biodiversity, and infectious disease.

Anthropogenic drivers, such as fossil fuel use, deforestation and agriculture, and human population growth, are accelerating increases in global temperatures, losses of biodiversity, and infectious disease outbreaks. These three global pressures can be connected mechanistically (examples listed in the two outer rings illustrate directional links, shown by arrows, between pressures) with cascading consequences. In addition to linear paths linking pressures, these mechanisms can lead to feedback loops between pressures, stepping from one ring to the next. Mechanisms match those identified in Table 1 and are discussed in more detail in the main text, but represent only a subset of the many possible mechanisms that connect pressures. The 2022 IPCC report provides examples of how the human system can be similarly integrated and connected to climate and biodiversity.