Nature is sending us another wake-up call with the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside Australian bushfires, broken heat records and the worst locust invasion in Kenya for 70 years. Our destruction of nature is hurting humanity. While our immediate priority must be to protect people from COVID-19 and prevent its spread, our long-term response must tackle climate change and biodiversity loss. To prevent further zoonotic disease outbreaks the destruction of nature for farming, mining and housing must end.