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The environmentalist and television activist Sir David Attenborough has issued a grim warning to world leaders on climate change: “It is too late.”
Responding to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s invitation to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) climate session, Sir David simply said: “Make no mistake, climate change is the greatest security threat to the world. that modern humans have faced. “
In his passionate speech, the veteran announcer said that he did not “envy” the responsibility that the situation placed on “all of you and your governments” but warned: “We have come out of the stable and secure climatic period that gave rise to our civilizations.”
“There is no turning back, no matter what we do now, it is too late to avoid climate change and the poorest, the most vulnerable, the least secure, will surely suffer.”
Johnson gave Sir David the platform as the UK currently chairs the UN Security Council.
And when he practically inaugurated the first summit of UN leaders on climate change, Johnson described the threat it posed to global security as “of the utmost importance” and said that global warming was creating insecurity “in communities uprooted by climate change. extreme weather and hunger, to the warlords who take advantage of the fight for resources. “
If emissions are reduced enough, the planet can avoid its tipping point. Stock Image
He called for action to help vulnerable countries adapt to climate change and reduce global emissions to “net zero”, requiring huge reductions in greenhouse gases and any remaining pollution to offset through measures such as planting trees, to protect prosperity and security.
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Sir David hopes countries will set ‘last chance’ targets on climate change
And he got the support of French President Emmanuel Macron, who urged the UN Security Council to appoint a climate security envoy to coordinate climate change policies.
The ONU COP26 The climate summit will be hosted by the UK in November in Glasgow.
Sir David described that event as possibly “the last chance to make the necessary change” to save the planet.
He said: “If we reduce emissions vigorously enough, we can avoid the tipping points that will make runaway climate change unstoppable.
“In November this year, at COP26 in Glasgow, we may have our last chance to take the necessary step.
“If we objectively view climate change and the loss of nature as threats to global security, as indeed they are, then we can act proportionally and over time.”
Climate change protests took place throughout 2020 in the UK
It occurs as countries are increasingly faced with the effects of rising temperatures and extreme weather, forcing populations to move and creating competition for increasingly scarce resources.
Of the 20 countries ranked as the most vulnerable to rising global temperatures, 12 are already in conflict, authorities said.
Johnson said: “The UNSC is tasked with confronting the gravest threats to global peace and security, and that is exactly what climate change represents.”
But he said, “Unlike many issues the council addresses, this is one that we know exactly how to address.
“By helping vulnerable countries adapt to climate change and reduce global emissions to zero, we will protect not only our planet’s abundant biodiversity, but also its prosperity and security.”
Christian Aid’s climate policy director, Dr. Kat Kramer, said: “Millions of the world’s poorest people are already living with the impacts of climate change, which is forcing displacement, devastating livelihoods and putting pressure on on communities competing for resources such as land and water.
“In some countries, these impacts become engines of local conflicts that can be exploited by leaders and turn into violence and war.”
