The BBC has just launched a year-long series of special programming and reporting that will lead up to the COP 26 conference in Glasgow in November. As part of its coverage of “Our Planet Matters”, they have interviewed the distinguished broadcaster and environmentalist Sir David Attenborough. In the interview he warns that we have reached a critical turning point in the climate crisis.
"The moment of crisis has come" in efforts to tackle climate change, Sir David Attenborough has warned.
According to the renowned naturalist and broadcaster, "we have been putting things off for year after year. As I speak, south east Australia is on fire. Why? Because the temperatures of the Earth are increasing," he said.
The interview was the lead story on the morning BBC News bulletins (apologies for the sound quality as this appears to have been videoed from the tv)
Sir David’s message is that the longer we put off making serious changes, the worse the position will become. Countries attending COP26 will have to bring forward further commitments to cut levels of greenhouse gases. Even if all of the previous promises were kept, global temperature rise will hit 3oC above pre-industrial levels.
The latest assessment by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) lays bare the dangers of that. It suggests that a rise of anything above 1.5C would mean that coastal flooding, heatwaves and damage to coral reefs would become more severe. And the latest figures show that the world has already warmed by just over 1C.
Sir David has also previewed his “witness statement” on the climate crisis, the film “David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet”