Biodiversity Loss vs. Climate Change: Which Is the Greater Threat?

We tend to talk about climate change as the defining crisis of our time—and for good reason. Rising temperatures, extreme weather, and shifting ecosystems will shape the future of our planet.

But what if biodiversity loss is an even more immediate and dramatic threat?

While climate change is often seen as a slow-moving, long-term crisis, biodiversity loss can trigger rapid, cascading failures in the systems we rely on today—from food production to clean water, disease control, and economic stability.

What Would a UK Biodiversity Collapse Look Like?

We’ve had glimpses of what this could mean. Think back to the early days of the pandemic, when supermarket shelves were stripped bare, supply chains fractured, and food insecurity became a very real issue.

Now imagine that happening on a much larger, structural scale:

• Pollinators disappearing. Without bees, butterflies, and other insects, crop yields plummet. No pollination means no fruit, fewer vegetables, and a massive impact on global food security.

• Soil degradation accelerating. Without earthworms, fungi, and microbial life, soils lose fertility, eroding faster than they can regenerate—leading to lower yields and greater reliance on synthetic inputs.

• Collapse of marine ecosystems. Overfishing and habitat destruction are devastating fish populations. Without intervention, key species could disappear, throwing entire ecosystems—and global food supplies—into chaos.

• Increased vulnerability to disease. Biodiversity acts as a buffer against zoonotic diseases (like COVID-19). As we lose habitats and species, we increase the risk of spillover events that create new pandemics.

This isn’t some distant threat. In the UK, 1 in 6 species is at risk of extinction. And when biodiversity collapses, it doesn’t do so gradually—it often happens suddenly, reaching irreversible tipping points.

The “Weirding” of the Weather

That’s not to say climate change is a distant, abstract problem. It’s happening right now—but not in the way many people think.

It’s not just about things getting warmer. It’s about unpredictability—floods, storms, droughts, and heatwaves are all increasing in frequency and intensity.

• The UK is seeing more extreme rainfall, which floods farmland, ruins harvests, and disrupts food production.

• Warmer winters allow crop-destroying pests to thrive year-round.

• Unseasonal heatwaves impact pollination cycles, meaning plants don’t fruit at the right time.

These aren’t problems for future generations—they’re happening now, and they’re disrupting the delicate systems we depend on.

The Solutions Are Emerging—And the UK Is Leading the Way

The threats of biodiversity loss and climate change are real. But the good news? We have the solutions.

We’re starting to see positive signs on both fronts. New biodiversity legislation has been introduced alongside various nature recovery programmes. There’s a lot to do—and frankly, we’re only just getting started—but it’s encouraging to see progress.

The UK is already taking bold steps to tackle biodiversity loss through Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) legislation—a world-leading policy that ensures every new development results in a net increase in biodiversity. This means that even as we build, we are actively improving habitats, creating richer ecosystems, and reversing decades of environmental damage.

In climate action, we’re moving beyond carbon as a numbers game and into real, tangible impact. With the rise of nature-based solutions, carbon removals, and direct investment in ecosystem restoration, we’re finally taking action that delivers lasting change.

We’re also starting to see a potential bounce back in the Carbon Market, which, for me, still represents the most effective mechanism for funding efforts to mitigate carbon emissions—for businesses and those wanting to go beyond decarbonisation initiatives like Net Zero.

Long plagued by concerns over credibility and effectiveness, the Carbon Market is entering a new era of rigour, innovation, and diversification:

• Stronger verification and monitoring standards. New methodologies ensure that carbon credits represent real, measurable reductions in emissions, restoring confidence in the market.

• Multi-standard projects. The best projects now meet multiple global standards, delivering not just carbon reductions but also biodiversity restoration, social benefits, and ecosystem resilience.

• Increasing corporate demand. As regulations tighten and consumer expectations rise, businesses are moving away from vague offsets and investing in high-integrity carbon projects.

We Have to Fix Both. Now.

When we think about climate change and biodiversity loss, one crisis is creeping and relentless. The other could hit us like a sudden shockwave.

Ignoring biodiversity loss is like ignoring the cracks in a dam—when it breaks, it happens fast and with devastating consequences.

Ignoring climate change is like ignoring rust on the foundations—slow but certain decay, sometimes with dramatic consequences, but always a creeping negative decline for our environment.

We don’t have to choose which crisis to solve. We must tackle both. And we already have the tools to do it. The challenge now is funding and scaling these solutions before nature forces us to act.

The good news?

The shift is already happening. We just need to accelerate it.