The more natural habitats shrink, and the closer wildlife comes to human settlements, the greater the risk that diseases like Ebola or Covid-19 will make the leap from animals to humans, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in an online keynote speech.

“We need a Paris-style agreement for biodiversity,” the head of the EU executive body said, referring to the carbon emissions reduction pact agreed in the French capital in 2015.

More than half of global economic output depends on highly functioning biodiversity and ecosystems, von der Leyen said, citing food production and tourism.

She announced that the EU would propose ambitious goals at the UN Biodiversity Summit that is scheduled to take place in the Chinese city of Kunming in May.

The summit’s goal is to adopt a new global framework, building on the existing UN Biodiversity Convention.

The novel coronavirus that jumped from wildlife to humans and triggered the current pandemic was proof that the world is highly vulnerable, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The world must therefore take action on the biodiversity pact in Kunming, and on the Paris Agreement.

“We have to put more effort into both than we have done in the past,” Merkel said at the World Economic Forum that is being held online instead of in Davos, Switzerland, this year.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that the international goals to curb global warming can only be achieved if countries, citizens and companies work together to protect animals, plants and their habitats.

“What we are doing for the climate, we need to do for biodiversity,” he said.