SIF 2022: 'Every single piece of data tells us we could be heading for a sixth mass extinction event'

The Edit

James Baxter-Derrington
clock • 1 min read

The earth could be on track for a sixth mass extinction event, with the biodiversity crisis a key factor that must be tackled.

Speaking on Investment Week's The Edit, Douglas Gurr told acting editor James Baxter-Derrington that "every single piece of data we look at tells us we could be heading for a sixth mass extinction event". He added that this mass extinction event would be different from all previous occurrences, as it would be the first to be caused "directly by human impact". "Some of it is undoubtedly climate change," he explained. "But there are also hugely important drivers like land use - more than half of the earth's habitable surface is now agriculture. "If you cut down tropical rainforests f...

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