We invite all microbiologists to endorse the Microbiologists’ Warning – microorganisms are so critical to achieving an environmentally sustainable future that ignoring them risks the fate of Humanity.
If you have microbiology training, we invite you to endorse our Consensus Statement published in Nature Reviews Microbiology entitled “Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: microorganisms and climate change”. Our Microbiologists’ Warning aims to raise awareness of the microbial world and make a call to action for microbiologists to become increasingly engaged in, and microbial research to become increasingly infused into, the frameworks for addressing climate change.
Before signing, please ensure you have read the Consensus Statement and/or summary that includes the abstract, introduction, description of Scientist’s Warning Movement, and the Microbiologists’ call to action from the Consensus Statement. By signing the article and adding your name, you will be indicating that you generally agree with our Consensus Statement and will therefore be helping to amplify our message to Humanity.
The Scientists' Warning Movement
The motivation for the Microbiologists’ Warning comes from the Alliance of World Scientists and the Scientists’ Warning Movement that was initiated by Bill Ripple (Oregon State University) to alert humanity to the impacts of human activities on global climate and the environment. In 1992, the Union of Concerned Scientists alerted humanity to the threat of climate change and the need for sustainability with 1,700 scientists signing the first Warning. Twenty-five years later (2017) more than 15,000 scientists signed the Second Warning, with the total reaching 21,000+ in 2019. At the heart of the Warning is a call to governments and institutions to shift policy away from economic growth and towards a conservation economy that will stop environmental destruction and enable human activities to achieve a sustainable future. A film, The Second Warning, is currently being made that aims to document scientists’ advocacy for humanity to replace ‘business as usual’ and take action to achieve the survival of all species by averting the continuing environmental and climate change crisis. Linked to the Second Warning is also a series of focused Scientists’ Warning articles (50+), including our Microbiologists’ Warning. In early 2020 the World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency was published with endorsements from 11,000+ scientists, and the website is still taking signatures.
To grow the Microbiologists’ Warning, signatories are encouraged to work with their professional societies to write additional article(s) addressing specific aspects of microorganisms and climate change related to members’ expertise, and particularly emphasizing issues of national relevance.
The ability of science and society to address climate change will be considerably empowered by microbiologists, by agencies demonstrably incorporating microorganisms into their ‘thinking’, and by broadly enhancing microbial literacy in society.
Microbiologists can also contribute to efforts as world scientists' warning of a climate emergency and by looking to engage in a variety of ways to act on our own warnings to humanity.
2021: Despite promising developments, the need for climate action has grown even more urgent this year - read The Climate Emergency: 2020 in Review and watch this video on six steps for climate mitigation.
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Singapore National Academy of Science
European Academy of Microbiology
American Academy of Microbiology
All-Russian National Academy of Mycology
International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS)
Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS)
Australian Society for Microbiology
South African Society for Microbiology
Georgian Association of General and Applied Microbiology
Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology
Italian Association of Oceanology and Limnology
American Society for Microbiology
American Society for Virology
Society for Microbiology of Moldova
Microbiology Society (UK and Republic of Ireland)
Spanish Society for Microbiology
Belgian Society for Microbiology
Polish Society of Microbiologists
Brazilian Society of Microbiology
Association for General and Applied Microbiology (VAAM)
Association of Microbiologists of India
Turkish Society of Microbiology
Society for Applied Microbiology (SfAM)
French Society for Microbiology (SFM)
Korean Society for Microbiology and Biotechnology (KMB)
Canadian Society of Microbiologists
Interregional Russian Microbiology Society
Singapore Society for Microbiology and Biotechnology (SSMB)
Israel Society for Microbiology
Portuguese Society of Microbiology
Italian Society for General Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology (SIMGBM)
International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation Society (IBBS)
Iranian Society of Microbiology (ISM)
New Zealand Microbiological Society (NZMS)
Italian Society of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Microbiology (SIMTREA)
Italian Association for the Study and Applications of Microalgae (AISAM)
International Society for Human and Animal Mycology
Mexican Association of Microbiology
Danish Microbiological Society
Finnish Biochemical, Biophysical, and Microbiological Society (Biobio)
International Society for Plant Pathology
Lithuanian Microbiological Society
International Society for Viruses of Microorganisms (ISVM)
German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology (DGHM)
Czechoslovak Society for Microbiology (CSSM)
Italian Society for Virology (ISV)
Spanish Society of Virology (SEV)
Luxembourg Society for Microbiology (LSfM)
Italian Society of Microbiology (SIM)
Royal Netherlands Society for Microbiology (KNVM)
Norwegian Society for Microbiology (NFM)
Latvian Society for Microbiology (LMB)
Pakistan Society for Microbiology
Hellenic Zoological Society (HZS)
Spanish Society of Biotechnology (SEBiot)
Taiwan Society of Microbiology
Estonian Society for Microbiology
Indian Association of Pathologists & Microbiologists
Chinese Freshwater Ecology Society
Serbian Society for Microbiology
Hungarian Society for Microbiology (MMT)
Swedish Association for Microbiology (SFM)
Chilean Society of Microbiology (SOMICH)
Austrian Association of Molecular Life Sciences and Biotechnology (ÖGMBT)
- A Behind the Paper post on the Nature Research Microbiology Community website provides a backstory to the Microbiologists’ Warning.
- Nature Editorial Harness microbes for humanity’s future.
- Scientists Warning.org
- Ecological Society of America's Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment Editorial Microbes: overlooked and understudied
- Nature Methods When microbiologists plunge into the ocean and Nature Research Ecology and Evolution Community Microbiologists dive deep
- NEBexpressions Climate change under the microscope
- F1000Prime Recommendation
- F1000Prime Recommendation
- Join ASM in endorsing the microbiologists' warning
- Canadian Society of Microbiologists: Microbiologists' Warning Consensus Statement
- German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology: critically important support from German organizations
- Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Moldova: the microbiologists of the world warn
- Portuguese Society of Microbiology: Microbiologists Alert Humanity
- World Federation for Culture Collections: Microbiologists' Warning
- ASM (Australia): Vertical Transmission
- ASM (Australia): The Microbiologists’ Warning: a Warning from All Microbiologists’ to Humanity
- Singapore Society for Microbiology and Biotechnology: Warning from All Microbiologists' to Humanity
- Swiss Society for Microbiology: SSM Newsletter October 2019
- Austrian Microbiology Initiative (AMICI): endorses the Scientists’ warning to humanity
- ÖGMBT Chemiereport: What the climate does to bacteria
- OUPblog: Learning microbiology through comics
- FAO. 2020. Climate change: Unpacking the burden on food safety. Food safety and quality series No. 8. Rome.
- FAO, ITPS, GSBI, SCBD, and EC. 2020. State of knowledge of soil biodiversity - Status, challenges and potentialities, Report 2020. Rome, FAO.
- ISOP: endorses the Microbiologists’ Warning to Humanity Consensus Statement
- Help us spread the word by re-sharing our social media posts (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn)
Where have the signatures come from?
We've received endorsements from Microbiologists all over the world. Here's where they come from:
Organisations that endorse the Microbiologists' Warning
Along with a host of academics, many organisations have added their name to our petition. View their location here: