Nature at risk of breakdown if Cop15 pledges not met, world leaders warned

Author of landmark UK review into the economic value of nature joins UN environment chief in calls for ‘action, not just words’ on biodiversity goals

A single-use plastic bottle floats in the clear blue ocean as a result of human pollution and lack of education. File picture: iStock

Humans are exploiting nature beyond its limits, a University of Cambridge economist and expert on biodiversity has warned, as the UN’s environment chief calls on governments to make good on a global deal for biodiversity, six months after it was agreed.

Professor Partha Dasgupta, the author of a landmark review into the economic importance of nature, said it was a mistake to continue basing economic policies on the postwar boom that did not account for damage to the planet.