Destruction of nature as threatening as climate crisis, EU deputy warns

An image provided by the NGO Agent Green which it says shows large-scale deforestation and habitat degradation in a nature protection area in Frumoasa, Romania. Photograph: Agent Green/AP

The human-made crisis engulfing the natural world is “just as threatening, perhaps even more so” than the climate crisis, one of the EU’s most senior officials has warned.

Speaking to the Guardian, Frans Timmermans, the vice-president of the European Commission, said he hoped “we can heighten the sense of urgency” about the destruction of the natural environment, where the situation is “really very, very scary”.