The world will lose 1 million square kilometres of forests, peatlands and other natural spaces. This is largely due to the expansion of cropland needed to feed a rising global population with a growing taste for meat. 

As a result, the planet’s mean species abundance – a single number that captures the diversity and distribution of life – is expected to fall by 3  per cent. 

Information taken from the UN Environment Programme Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7), launched in December 2025, which explores everything from the health of coral reefs to the status of the ozone layer