I'm not sure it's pedantry. We're so used to the pretty Hollywood storyline that I think people assume that any climate issue will just turn out okay in the end. But of course, Nature doesn't have the capacity for happy endings — that's a human construction. We could easily become nothing but a footnote in the history of the planet, if we're not careful here.

Pretty much every species which has roamed the planet has gone extinct. Nature is tough. I think that's the point of emphasizing the phrasing.