According to a landmark UN report, overconsumption and unsustainable farming have caused a double climate crisis. This puts crucial ecosystems like coral reefs at risk of destruction.
The UN expert biodiversity panel study discusses the complex relationship between nature loss, global warming and threats to water, food and health. It also focuses on the role humans play in these crises.
It took three years to gather the information for the report. The findings were agreed upon by nearly 150 governments after days of debate. Recent UN summits have resulted in disappointing outcomes for the planet.
Tackling any of these challenges in isolation dooms progress on the others, said the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
This poses “a real danger in that we’ll solve one crisis whilst also making others worse”, said Paula Harrison, one of the report’s lead authors.
