A landmark UN report on the state of Nature shows how humanity has wreaked havoc on the environment, undercutting Earth's essential life-support systems.
A Summary for Policymakers approved by 132 nations and the underlying 1,800-page scientific report lay bare a planet ravaged by rampant consumption and pollution, where a million species are at risk of extinction.
Crop production has surged 300 percent since 1970, meaning one-third of all land is now used to make food -- an industry that uses 75 percent of all fresh water on Earth. There is currently less than 70 percent of the forest cover Earth had before the Industrial Revolution. There are roughly 17,000 mines operating worldwide, and at least 6,500 oil and gas installations, kept viable by $345 billion in fossil fuel subsidies.
Eleven percent of humans are undernourished; more than 820 million face food insecurity in Africa and Asia alone. What's more, the world's oceans and forests absorb more than half of our greenhouse gas emissions, which have doubled since 1980 contributing to a 0.7 Celsius global temperature rise.
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