FIRE AND FURY
Sir David Attenborough warns climate ‘crisis moment’ is here – and ‘Australia being on fire’ is proof
SIR David Attenborough has warned that "the moment of crisis has come" in our efforts to tackle climate change.
The renowned broadcaster and natural historian spoke to the about how humans have been putting off facing the crisis for too long.
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He said: "As I speak, south east Australia is on fire. Why? Because the temperatures of the Earth are increasing."
The naturalist then went on to say that politicians and commentators who claims the Australian fires are not to do with climate change are talking "palpable nonsense."
He added that "we know perfectly well" that human activity is responsible for Earth's temperature increase.
Sir David is highlighting what he sees as a "moment of crisis" because although more scientists are agreeing that a rapid response is needed, international negotiations don't seem to be going anywhere.
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The most recent international climate change talks were branded a disappointment by the UN Secretary-General and the British government.
This was because countries, including Australia, were accused of trying to dodge commitments.
Sir David told the : "We have to realise that this is not playing games. This is not just having a nice little debate, arguments and then coming away with a compromise.
"This is an urgent problem that has to be solved and, what's more, we know how to do it - that's the paradoxical thing, that we're refusing to take steps that we know have to be taken."
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This year will see many international talks and meetings regarding climate change were decisions about the future will hopefully be made.
A major world leader conference is happening in China in 2020 to discuss how to safeguard nature.
The UK will also be hosting a crucial UN summit, referred to as COP26, in Glasgow in November.
Governments will be under pressure to cut emissions further because their current pledges don't seem to be doing enough.
Plans were made back in 2030 to cut in half emissions of gasses caused by human activity.
However, the opposite is currently happening.
Sir David's comments came in a BBC News interview as the broadcaster plans to launch a year of special climate change coverage.
Climate change explained
Here are the basic facts...
- Scientists have lots of evidence to show that the Earth’s climate is rapidly changing due to human activity
- Climate change will result in problems like global warming, greater risk of flooding, droughts and regular heatwaves
- Each of the last three decades have been hotter than the previous one and 17 of the 18 warmest years on record have happened during the 21st century
- The Earth only needs to increase by a few degrees for it to spell disaster
- The oceans are already warming, polar ice and glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising and we’re seeing more extreme weather events
- In 2015, almost all of the world's nations signed a deal called the Paris Agreement which set out ways in which they could tackle climate change and try to keep temperatures below 2C
Sir David Attenborough provides disturbing visualisation of ivory hunting's impact in Seven Worlds, One Planet
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