‘We are at war with nature’: UN environment chief warns of biodiversity apocalypse

Inger Andersen spells out the challenges facing the planet as Cop15 delegates gather in Montreal

Workers set up the Montreal Convention Centre in preparation for the COP15 UN conference on biodiversity in Montreal. Picture: AP

The UN’s environment chief has warned that “we are at war with nature” and must “make peace”, as countries gather at Cop15 in Montreal to agree a deal to protect the planet’s biodiversity.

“We’ve just welcomed the 8 billionth member of the human race on this planet. That’s a wonderful birth of a baby, of course. But we need to understand that the more people there are, the more we put the Earth under heavy pressure,” said Inger Andersen, the executive director of the UN environment programme.