Aromatic Oils in a Warming World: A Call to Conserve - Part One

Aromatic plants have long been revered for their ability to heal, soothe, and connect us to the natural world. From the distillation of lavender fields in Provence to the harvesting of frankincense in Oman, essential oils carry both cultural and medicinal significance. Yet as the climate crisis accelerates, access to these precious botanicals is becoming increasingly uncertain. Rising global temperatures, erratic weather patterns, and unsustainable demand for essential oils are converging in ways that place pressure not only on ecosystems, but on the future of plant medicine itself.

Climate Truths We Must Confront

The science is unequivocal: human activity is warming the planet at an unprecedented pace. The last decade was the hottest in 125,000 years. Earth’s temperature has risen by 0.14°F (0.08°C) per decade since 1880, but in the last 40 years the rate has more than doubled to 0.32°F (0.18°C) per decade. The ten warmest years on record have all occurred since 2005, with 2020 registering as the second hottest year ever recorded.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that within the next two decades, global temperatures are likely to rise by 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This threshold is considered critical: beyond it, the impacts of climate change become far more dangerous and irreversible. Rising carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions are the driving force. Pre-industrial CO₂ levels stood at roughly 280 parts per million (ppm). Today, we hover near 420 ppm, a level unseen for millions of years.

Although oceans absorb around a third of this excess carbon, helping buffer some effects, the strain on Earth’s natural systems is extraordinary. For plants, including those cultivated for aromatic oils, these shifts alter growth cycles, disrupt traditional harvest patterns, and increase the risks of disease and biodiversity loss.

As climate scientist Dr. Friederike Otto observed in 2023: “Every fraction of a degree of warming we prevent will reduce the risks of droughts, wildfires, and biodiversity collapse. The choices we make today are decisive.”

Aromatic Oils Under Pressure

The global appetite for essential oils has grown steadily, fuelled by wellness movements, personal care industries, and natural health practices. Yet this rising demand coincides with declining ecological stability. Many plants relied upon for essential oils thrive only within narrow climate ranges. Lavender, for example, requires specific altitudes and temperature conditions for optimal oil composition. Climate shifts threaten both yield and chemical integrity.

Similarly, frankincense trees (Boswellia sacra), already under pressure from overharvesting, are further stressed by desertification and soil degradation. Sandalwood (Santalum album), once abundant in India, has been driven to near extinction through illegal logging and unsustainable trade. These examples illustrate how the intersection of climate instability and human exploitation jeopardises both the survival of plant species and the availability of their aromatic gifts.

Essential oils are not limitless resources; they are rare gifts of the earth, shaped by the patient alchemy of soil, sunlight, and time. According to the WildCheck (TRAFFIC report, 2022) “Of the 21 per cent of medicinal and aromatic plant species whose vulnerability status has been assessed, nine per cent are considered threatened with extinction.”

Treading Lightly

Plant conservation is no longer an abstract concept—it is a necessity. According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), nearly 30,000 plant species require permits for trade to prevent exploitation. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) further categorises species as Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable, highlighting the urgency of safeguarding biodiversity.

As practitioners, formulators, and consumers, the principle of treading lightly must guide our relationship with vegetable and essential oils. This means making conscious choices about sourcing, favouring oils from reputable producers who prioritise ethical cultivation and transparent supply chains. It also requires adopting a philosophy of respectful usage—embracing the idea that less is more. These potent botanicals are highly effective in minuscule amounts, and overuse is not only unnecessary but deeply wasteful. Finally, treading lightly calls on us to support replanting and regeneration, engaging with initiatives that protect endangered species through reforestation and sustainable farming practices. To tread lightly is, above all, to honour the plant, the land, and the communities who depend upon these resources.

In the words of Dr. Kelly Ablard, a conservation biologist specialising in aromatic plants: “Every drop of essential oil is a distillation of ecosystems, communities, and lifetimes of growth. We must learn to use them wisely if we hope to use them at all in the future.”

Knowledge as a Path to Preservation

Understanding conservation status is as important as understanding the chemistry of an oil. Too often, consumers purchase aromatic oils without knowledge of whether a plant is endangered or sustainably sourced. Education empowers us to make choices that protect rather than exploit. The responsibility lies not only with producers and brands, but with each of us who diffuse, blend, and inhale these plant medicines.

Beyond personal choices, broader systemic change is needed. Policies that limit emissions, investments in regenerative agriculture, and international cooperation on biodiversity protection are all critical to ensuring aromatic plants remain available for generations to come.

Practising Reverence Through Restraint

We Walk lightly on a planet that carries us far beyond our own lifetimes. The climate crisis is teaching us, sometimes painfully, how fragile our ecosystems truly are. Aromatic oils are not infinite commodities; they are precious gifts of nature, distilled through the slow work of soil, sunlight, and time.

As we blend, inhale, and apply these oils, let us do so with reverence. Let us remember that every drop embodies a web of ecological relationships under stress from climate change. With knowledge, restraint, and respect, we can ensure that the ancient power of aromatic plants remains not only part of our present, but also of our future.

 The story of climate change and aromatic plants is one of both fragility and resilience. While Part One of Aromatic Oils in a Warming World: A Call to Conserve has set the scene by examining the global climate crisis and its impact on ecosystems, the next article turns our focus to specifics.

In Part Two: From Vulnerable to Endangered: Understanding Plant Survival, we will explore how leading organisations classify threatened species, highlight aromatic plants most at risk, and share examples of conservation efforts that offer hope for the future.