MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • January 9, 2026
The Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) regrets the deeply disappointing news of the United States’ intention to withdraw its participation in IPBES, along with more than 60 other international organizations and bodies. The United States is a founding member of IPBES and scientists, policymakers and stakeholders – including Indigenous Peoples and local communities – from the U.S. have been among the most engaged contributors to the work of IPBES since its establishment in 2012, making valuable contributions to objective science-based assessments of the state of the planet, for people and nature. Unfortunately, we cannot withdraw from the fact that more than 1 million species of plants and animals face extinction. Nor can we change the fact that the global economy is losing as much as $25 trillion per year in environmental impacts or restore the missed opportunities of not acting now to generate more than $10 trillion in business opportunity value and 395 million jobs by 2030.