Humanity is on the verge of ‘shattering Earth’s natural limits’, say experts in biodiversity warning 

As the Cop16 conference begins, scientists and academics say human activity has pushed the world into a danger zone

'We are very close to those sort of critical limits where we are not going to be able to recover that biodiversity, and it has really big effects on society — it is not just about being able to see some butterflies.' Picture: AP Photo/Nic Coury

Humanity is “on the precipice” of shattering Earth’s limits, and will suffer huge costs if we fail to act on biodiversity loss, experts warn. 

This week, world leaders meet in Cali, Colombia, for the Cop16 UN biodiversity conference to discuss action on the global crisis. As they prepare for negotiations, scientists and experts around the world have warned the stakes are high, and there is “no time to waste”.