On May 6, the United Nation's Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released a summary of its global assessment report on threats to biodiversity. According to the summary, the number of species has dwindled by an average of 20% over the past 120 years, and sensitive animal groups have been hit particularly hard, with 40% of amphibians and roughly a third each of corals and marine mammals facing possible extinction.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization has published a report suggesting that a decline in biodiversity poses a growing threat to food security. According to the UN study, the plants, animals, and microorganisms that are the bedrock of food production are in decline as a result of changes in land and water use and management, pollution, and climate change, among other drivers. The report highlights a number of "biodiversity friendly practices" that countries are beginning to adopt, but suggests that changes are not happening quickly enough.