David Attenborough’s plea to Davos: ‘The mechanisms that we have for destruction are so wholesale and so frightening’
Sir David Attenborough has issued a dark warning about the “wholesale” destruction of our planet if world leaders don’t act to protect precious ecosystems.
Nick Whigham@NWWHIGHAM
news.com.au
Prince William interviews naturalist David Attenborough on climate change at Davos
Beloved British naturalist Sir David Attenborough has issued another stark warning to the world, saying “the Garden of Eden is no more”.Mr Attenborough, 92, said the world faced certain catastrophe if climate change is not dealt with immediately.
“The mechanisms that we have for destruction are so wholesale and so frightening,” he warned, imploring leaders to take greater action to protect Earth’s precious ecosystems.His comments came while he was being interviewed by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, on stage in front of attendees at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
“We are seeing that almost everything we do has its echoes and has its implications across the natural world.
“We are now so numerous, so powerful, so all-pervasive ... that we can actually exterminate whole ecosystems without even noticing it,” Mr Attenborough said.Earlier, during the forum’s Crystal Awards ceremony where he was honoured for his environmental stewardship, Mr Attenborough warned that Earth’s “Garden of Eden is no more.”
Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and British naturalist, documentary maker and broadcaster David Attenborough. Picture: Fabrice Coffrini
Source:AFP
Britain's Prince William, left, and Sir David Attenborough, broadcaster and natural historian, watch the screening of Attenborough's new documentary "Our Planet" during a session at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Picture: Markus Schreiber
Source:AP
Despite his ominous warnings, the TV broadcaster struck an optimistic tone during his time on stage with Prince William. He hailed the 2015 Paris climate agreement as a positive moment when world leaders had recognised the dangers of rising temperatures.
MORE: Climate change tops list of global economic threats in WEF report
However he noted this had not been universal. “There have been people who have withdrawn from that,” he said, referring to the likes of US president Donald Trump.
It’s not the first time the famous naturalist has taken a dig at Mr Trump who recently rejected his administrations own findings on climate change’s role in causing extreme weather events by simply saying: “I don’t believe it.
”Speaking on the sidelines of UN climate talks in Poland last month, Mr Attenborough said the US president was “out on a limb” on his attitude to climate change.
During the talks in Poland, he delivered a similar message of urgency to world leaders, saying civilisation could ultimately collapse.
“Right now, we are facing a man-made disaster of global scale. Our greatest threat in thousands of years,” he said.
“The continuation of our civilisations and the natural world upon which we depend, is in your hands.”
British naturalist, documentary maker and broadcaster David Attenborough delivers a speech after receiving a Crystal Award during a ceremony ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2019 annual meeting.
Picture: Fabrice Coffrini
Source:AFP
Known for countless nature films, Mr Attenborough has gained prominence recently with his Blue Planet II series, which highlighted the devastating effect of pollution on the oceans.
Mr Attenborough’s advice for the leaders gathered at Davos this week was to care for the natural world and not to waste its resources, from energy to food. “We can wreck it with ease.
We can wreck it without even noticing we’re doing it. And if we wreck the natural world, in the end, we wreck ourselves,” he said.
“We can reduce the extremes of weather that’s overtaking the planet already.“And that is essential for the future wellbeing of the planet ... We have the power, we have the knowledge to actually live in harmony with nature.
”The 92-year-olds’s new documentary series Our Planet is set to be released on Netflix globally on April 5.— With AAP
Sir David Attenborough has issued a dark warning about the “wholesale” destruction of our planet if world leaders don’t act to protect precious ecosystems.
Nick Whigham@NWWHIGHAM
news.com.auPrince William interviews naturalist David Attenborough on climate change at Davos
Beloved British naturalist Sir David Attenborough has issued another stark warning to the world, saying “the Garden of Eden is no more”.Mr Attenborough, 92, said the world faced certain catastrophe if climate change is not dealt with immediately.
“The mechanisms that we have for destruction are so wholesale and so frightening,” he warned, imploring leaders to take greater action to protect Earth’s precious ecosystems.His comments came while he was being interviewed by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, on stage in front of attendees at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
“We are seeing that almost everything we do has its echoes and has its implications across the natural world.
“We are now so numerous, so powerful, so all-pervasive ... that we can actually exterminate whole ecosystems without even noticing it,” Mr Attenborough said.Earlier, during the forum’s Crystal Awards ceremony where he was honoured for his environmental stewardship, Mr Attenborough warned that Earth’s “Garden of Eden is no more.”
Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and British naturalist, documentary maker and broadcaster David Attenborough. Picture: Fabrice Coffrini
Source:AFP
Britain's Prince William, left, and Sir David Attenborough, broadcaster and natural historian, watch the screening of Attenborough's new documentary "Our Planet" during a session at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Picture: Markus Schreiber
Source:AP
Despite his ominous warnings, the TV broadcaster struck an optimistic tone during his time on stage with Prince William. He hailed the 2015 Paris climate agreement as a positive moment when world leaders had recognised the dangers of rising temperatures.
MORE: Climate change tops list of global economic threats in WEF report
However he noted this had not been universal. “There have been people who have withdrawn from that,” he said, referring to the likes of US president Donald Trump.
It’s not the first time the famous naturalist has taken a dig at Mr Trump who recently rejected his administrations own findings on climate change’s role in causing extreme weather events by simply saying: “I don’t believe it.
”Speaking on the sidelines of UN climate talks in Poland last month, Mr Attenborough said the US president was “out on a limb” on his attitude to climate change.
During the talks in Poland, he delivered a similar message of urgency to world leaders, saying civilisation could ultimately collapse.
“Right now, we are facing a man-made disaster of global scale. Our greatest threat in thousands of years,” he said.
“The continuation of our civilisations and the natural world upon which we depend, is in your hands.”
British naturalist, documentary maker and broadcaster David Attenborough delivers a speech after receiving a Crystal Award during a ceremony ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2019 annual meeting.
Picture: Fabrice Coffrini
Source:AFP
Known for countless nature films, Mr Attenborough has gained prominence recently with his Blue Planet II series, which highlighted the devastating effect of pollution on the oceans.
Mr Attenborough’s advice for the leaders gathered at Davos this week was to care for the natural world and not to waste its resources, from energy to food. “We can wreck it with ease.
We can wreck it without even noticing we’re doing it. And if we wreck the natural world, in the end, we wreck ourselves,” he said.
“We can reduce the extremes of weather that’s overtaking the planet already.“And that is essential for the future wellbeing of the planet ... We have the power, we have the knowledge to actually live in harmony with nature.
”The 92-year-olds’s new documentary series Our Planet is set to be released on Netflix globally on April 5.— With AAP
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Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst The 4th IR is not just about technology changes. It is about disruption on everything, including the way humans are living and interacting in the only global house we have, among ourselves and the ecosystem. The signs are there. The Climate change's fight has to be at the top of the human agenda. The Breton Woods system, the growing without end, etc have to be reinvented, or changed straight away, to try and solve what we can at this stage of history,