Microbes without borders: Uniting societies for climate action

The climate crisis is one of the most urgent and complex challenges of our time. Although often overlooked in models and policy, microorganisms play a critical role in climate dynamics. They are sensitive to environmental drivers such as rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns, with far-reaching consequences for the health of crops, livestock, and human populations. Climate change can also disrupt biogeochemical cycles that microbes help regulate, thereby altering feedbacks that influence Earth system processes (Lennon et al. 2024). Yet, microbes offer powerful and unique opportunities for climate change mitigation. In both natural and industrial contexts, microbial life can be leveraged to reduce emissions (Jiao et al. 2024), restore ecosystems, and enhance resilience (Tiedje et al. 2022, Rappuoli et al. 2025). Realizing this potential will require coordinated action and shared goals across societies, stakeholders, sectors, and borders (Peixoto et al. 2024).