Up to 1 million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction.
According to the office of Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday night, the head of the British government will issue such a warning at the UN summit on biodiversity, which will be held on Wednesday evening.
“Almost 70 percent of the world’s animals have been lost in the last half-century — a lifetime for many of us, but only a moment by the standards of evolution. Up to 1 million plant and animal species are at risk of extinction,” said Johnson in a speech distributed by his office.
The head of the British government warned that the disruption of the natural balance would have “catastrophic consequences for the economy, climate, food security, public health and all the [UN] sustainable development goals.
He called on the international community to act in a coordinated manner to halt biodiversity loss. Earlier this week, participants in the event for UN leaders pledged to take active action to protect nature.
The British Government made a commitment to bring the area of protected areas from 26% to 30% of the United Kingdom’s area by 2030. Last year, the UK also announced the creation of the Global Ocean Alliance, which supports the creation of protected areas in 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030. At present, in addition to the United Kingdom, its members are Belize, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ecuador, Finland, Gabon, Italy, Kenya, Nigeria, Portugal, Sweden, Germany, and several other states. Now the agenda of the international initiative 30by30 (“30% by 2030”) also suggests that the world’s countries should turn 30% of their land area into protected areas by 2030.
