Nature loss will result in deadlier future pandemics, UN warns

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habitat destruction and insatiable consumption made animal-borne diseases far more likely to make the jump to people in future

"The same human activities that drive climate change and biodiversity loss also drive pandemic risk through their impacts on our environment."

These include unsustainable exploitation of the environment through deforestation, agricultural expansion, wildlife trade and consumption - all of which put humans in increasingly close contact with wild and farmed animals and the diseases they harbour.

It acknowledged the difficulty in counting the full economic cost of Covid-19. But the assessment pointed to estimated costs as high as US$16 trillion (S$22 trillion) as at July.

"Our health, wealth and well-being relies on the health, wealth and well-being of our environment,"