The United Nations Secretary-General has condemned humanity's "senseless and suicidal war on nature" and accused governments of failing to protect the environment ahead of a "make-it-or-break-it year" in 2021.
Antonio Guterres' comments came following the release of the UN Environment Programme's 'Making Peace With Nature' report, which found that galloping economic growth has come at a devastating cost to the planet.
"For too long we have been waging a senseless and suicidal war on nature," he said.
"The result is three interlinked environmental crises: climate disruption, biodiversity loss and pollution threaten our viability as a species."
Mr Guterres said that triple threat to humanity could be averted by a rapid shift to renewable energy and eliminating habitat loss.
The UN has estimated more than one million of the approximately eight million plant and animal species around the world are at risk of extinction.
Mr Guterres said it is not too late to take meaningful action but warned the world was close to a point of no return.
"This is the year where we need to have a new framework to preserve biodiversity and this is the year where we need to take a number of very important measures to reduce pollution," he said.
"I mean, it's a make-it-or-break-it year indeed."
The report drew on findings from other major assessments on climate and biodiversity from expert international panels, and has been developed as a scientific blueprint on how to tackle global environmental emergencies.
It suggests an overhaul of how nations value economic output, how power is generated, plus a check on fishing and farming methods.
It also said about nine million people die from pollution each year and early deaths were occurring from a "toxic trail" of economic growth.
"It is very clear that we depend on nature and unfortunately we're over-exploiting it at the moment," report lead author Robert Watson said.
"So, I think more and more governments are starting to recognise that they have to rethink how to measure economic growth."
James Watson, a professor of conservation science at The University of Queensland, said the UN typically doesn't spell out what countries should do.
"This report outlines the broader things that have to happen but nations then have to define what that means according to what they do in their own way," Professor Watson said.
He said richer nations such as Australia need to step up.
"What Australia needs to do is really embrace domestic and international policies that stop the degradation of natural habitats and actually ensure the last remaining intact native ecosystems remain functioning, because that's how disease doesn't break into human society," Professor Watson said.
He said he hopes the Australian government takes notice of the report.
"We need nature to develop and generate jobs," he said.
UN Environment Programme executive director Inger Andersen expressed hope that 2021 will see increased focus on human loss from the coronavirus pandemic and mark a shift in health priorities.
“We need to look no further than the global pandemic caused by COVID-19, a disease transmitted from animals to humans, to know that the finely tuned system of the natural world has been disrupted,” she said.
Despite a record drop in emissions last year as the pandemic curbed international travel, the world is on track to be at least three degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100.
That is a far cry from the aims of the Paris climate deal, in which nations promised to limit warming to "well below" 2C and to a safer cap of 1.5C if possible.
Additional reporting by AFP.
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