United Nations
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said world leaders need to end a “suicidal
war against nature.” The UN top boss’s plea comes at the same time when a new
report published in the journal Science showed that 44% of the Earth’s
surface must be conserved to prevent major biodiversity losses.

At a UN
environment conference in Stockholm, Guterres said unless humanity acts now, “we
will not have a liveable planet.” “We know what to do. And, increasingly, we
have the tools to do it. But we still lack leadership and cooperation. So
today, I appeal to leaders in all sectors: Lead us out of this mess,” Guterres
said.

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Responding to the
UN’s call, Italy and Sweden said support for an international fund that seeks
to invest at least $500 million to help in protecting the climate. The
conference in Stockholm also saw the release of the “Nature, People and Climate”
(NPC) programme by the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), one of the world’s
largest multilateral climate financing instruments.

The NPC programme
aims to aid indigenous peoples take the lead in environment protection. “Nature-based
solutions help reduce emissions, support communities adapting to a changing
climate and protect biodiversity,” said Matilda Ernkrans, Sweden’s
international development minister.

Meanwhile, the
study published in Science which used advanced data modelling and
algorithmic projects to map ways to conserve biodiversity showed that ecosystems
in certain critical places must be conserved. The study, however, does not call
on designating all these spaces as protected areas.

The study found
that nearly 1.87 billion people, around a quarter of the earth’s population, inhabit
areas in need of conservation. Most such areas are in developing countries in
Africa, Asia and Central America.

With the world
looking to miss its target to keep global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees
Celsius, green groups and climate scientists are calling on governments as well
as corporations to do more to protect the planet.