A mass extinction looms – and we have a 'once-in-a-decade chance' to fix it

It's the lesser-known equivalent of the climate crisis - but no less urgent. And we have a "once-in-a-decade" chance to fix it.

So say those racing to put the brakes on the spiralling destruction of life-sustaining ecosystems.

A mass extinction looms, driven for the first time by humans.

Global wildlife populations have plummeted almost 70% in just 50 years, and an unprecedented one million species are now at risk of being wiped off the earth forever.

And the UK is one of the worst-ranked in the world for the poor state of its wildlife and countryside.

International talks in Canada next week aim to strike a global biodiversity treaty to put the brakes on the nature crisis - akin to the way the historic Paris Agreement tackled climate breakdown.

Former French diplomat Laurence Tubiana, integral to the Paris deal, said protecting climate and life-sustaining nature are "inseparable challenges, but our global governance system has splintered them".

The December nature summit in Montreal, COP15, is a "once-in-a-decade chance to start putting this right, and give biodiversity the political attention it needs", she told Sky News.

Race to protect all life on earth

COP15 is the lesser-known equivalent of the climate talks, the last of which, COP27, just wrapped up in Egypt.

It is the finale to four tumultuous years of talks.

On the negotiating table is a proposal to reverse wildlife decline by 2030, as well as to protect 30% of land and sea.

A global biodiversity goal would "direct targets, laws, policies and funding at all levels and regions, much like the Paris Agreement has started doing for climate action," said Ms Tubiana.

This goal could be the nature equivalent of the global warming target that came out of the COP21 Paris climate talks in 2015: to limit warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Since then, a slew of policies and investments have seen renewable energy plummet in price and the predicted levels of warming fall from 4C to around 2.7C - a significant improvement, though still extremely dangerous.

"We need the same momentum to protect all life on earth," Ms Tubiana stressed.

The climate and nature crises are "intertwined," said Kew Gardens' director of science, Professor Alexandre Antonelli. "Biodiversity is absolutely critical to our lives and we losing it at an accelerating speed".

Narrow window of opportunity / 'Catastrophic consequences'

But world leaders have not even been formally invited to attend the COP15 nature summit, in contrast with around 100 that jetted in for the higher profile climate summit in November.

Countries each have their own interests and are drawing battle lines over things like pollution and cash.

And the previous global plan to stop species extinction and habitat destruction fell through, with the world failing to hit a single 2020 target.

"It is absolutely essential that we get it right this time," said Professor Alexandre Antonelli.

Otherwise we may "reach a tipping point, after which it may be impossible or extremely hard to revert the loss of nature", he warned.

One such tipping point is the death of the Amazon rainforest, which helps regulate the world's climate and provides vital water to nearby industries and megacities.

About 18% of the forest has already been chopped down. Biologists fear that once a quarter has gone, the rainforest will stop producing water and turn into a dry savannah.

Rather than absorbing climate-heating carbon dioxide, the new ecosystem would begin to unleash it.

Prof Antonelli told Sky News there is a "closing window of opportunity here. We know how to fix the problem, we know what the solutions are."

But after 2030, "we may not have the luxury of having that window any more".

The head of WWF-UK, Tanya Steele, said this week that leaders are "playing for time we don't have, risking catastrophic consequences for people, planet and the economy".

She, along with other campaigners and a group of 40 cross-party MPs, are calling on the UK Prime Minister to attend.

Divisive goals

More than half the world's countries, some 100, now support a goal protect 30% of land by 2030, led by France, Costa Rica and the UK.

But not everyone is on board. Some developing nations are wary of signing up to something they fear will be too expensive for them to put into practice.

Agreeing funding deals would help smooth negotiations.

But, as usual, the topic is expected to plague the summit, keeping diplomats well up into the night.

Talking money is always difficult - developed countries still haven't stumped up equivalent cash that they promised for climate action.

'No effective conservation without indigenous people'

Meanwhile some indigenous communities, widely regarded as the best guardians of nature, are concerned about how conservation areas would affect their territory.

They already protect 20% of land on Earth and 80% of its remaining biodiversity, despite only making up 5% of the world's population and many being extremely poor, according to World Bank data.

"We need to really be clear about the numbers," Hindou Ibrahim, co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change said in a briefing.

She wants to know whether that 30% will include, or be in addition to, the abundant land and species that indigenous peoples are already conserving.

They and their many advocates argue they should receive money for their conservation that benefits the rest of the world, because healthy forests, tundra and oceans sustain the weather, water, food and health of people far around.

"Science confirms that the prevalence of biodiversity within [indigenous] territories is linked to effective governance by communities of customary rights holders," said Levi Sucre of the Bribri people of Costa Rica, who coordinates the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests.

He told Sky News that COP15 agreements should "reflect this scientific consensus: there is no effective conservation without us".

The risk is real

Alongside international negotiations, financial regulators, investors, and businesses are "now beginning to understand the absolute specifics of the risks that are faced by their businesses and by their investments from damage to nature," campaigner Ruth Davis told reporters this week.

She cited a drought in Argentina in 2017-18 that was exacerbated by deforestation in the Amazon.

It inflicted $4.6bn (£3.8bn) of losses on the economy of one of the biggest agricultural producers in Latin America.

"This is not a theoretical risk anymore," said Davies. "This is a real risk."

Watch the Daily Climate Show at 3.30pm Monday to Friday, and The Climate Show with Tom Heap on Saturday and Sunday at 3.30pm and 7.30pm.

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