Imagine growing up in an environment where the only animals were rats, cockroaches and pigeons — what would it be like to be human? It’s a nightmare scenario, but that is exactly where we are heading if we do not act now to stem the catastrophic loss of biodiversity around the world. Nature is declining at rates unprecedented in human history and 1 million species are now threatened with extinction, some within decades.

The issue of biodiversity collapse can get lost amid the urgent debates around climate change. It is easy to assume that decarbonization is the only environmental game in town — that if we can only cut our emissions to zero, nature will inevitably flourish. But while the natural environment will be crucial to dealing with climate change and its impacts, it does not necessarily follow that climate action is inherently good for biodiversity. In fact, some actions could be actively undermining it.

Take carbon sequestration as an example. One way for countries to reduce their contribution to climate change would be to plant fast-growing trees that absorb a lot of carbon. But this runs the risk of further unbalancing local ecosystems, especially if we introduce non-native species. Could those plantations increase flood risk, change the acidity of water or soil, or disrupt species in the food chain? We must also be careful not to plant them on habitats of intrinsic value, or where they could undermine or counteract other ecosystem services. Even if we did manage to meet all of our carbon targets in this way, we might find ourselves saving the world while sacrificing much of what makes it special.