Attenborough’s world warning
Sir David Attenborough has issued a stark warning that the collapse of civilisations and extinction of much of the natural world is ‘on the horizon’ without action to tackle climate change.
Sir David Attenborough has issued a stark warning that the collapse of civilisations and extinction of much of the natural world is “on the horizon” without action to tackle climate change.
The naturalist and TV presenter delivered a message from people around the world to United Nations climate talks in Katowice, Poland, calling for leaders and decisionmakers to take charge on driving down emissions.
Sir David was speaking on behalf of the UN’S “People’s Seat” initiative to give ordinary people a voice at the international talks by gathering their thoughts, ideas and concerns via social media and polling in the past two weeks.
He said the world is facing its “greatest threat in thousands of years: climate change”.
He added: “If we don’t take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.”
And he said: “The world’s people have spoken, their message is clear, time is running out, they want you, the decision-makers, to act now.
“They’re supporting you in making tough decisions but they’re also willing to make sacrifices in their daily lives.”
The UN has launched an “Actnow.bot” which helps people discover simple everyday actions they can take to tackle climate change.
Sir David said: “The people have spoken: leaders of the world, you must lead, the continuation of our civilisations and the natural world upon which we depend are in your hands.”
UN Secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned negotiators at the meeting that the world was “in deep trouble” with climate change.
He said: “Climate change is running faster than we are and we must catch up sooner rather than later, before it’s too late.
“For many people, regions and even countries, this is already a matter of life and death.”
He also said that “climate action is not just the right thing to do, it makes social and economic sense”, pointing to how action to cut emissions will curb air pollution deaths and generate millions of jobs and trillions of dollars.
Negotiators at the talks will hear details of a global review on efforts to tackle climate change, and the pressure is on to work towards increasing commitments from countries by 2020.
The talks in Poland also aim to draw up the rulebook for making the Paris deal operational, and poorer countries will be looking for a boost to the finance being made available to help them develop cleanly.