Sir David Attenborough has made a plea to world leaders to raise awareness over extinction crisis of over one million species.
The well known English broadcaster and natural historian, aged 94, addresed virtually at an United Nations event some of the burning nature-related crises humanity faces nowadays.
In the wake of his newly released one-hour documentary: Extinction:The Facts which focuses on the consequences of numerous environmental crises and on the fact that over one million species are at risk of extinction, Sir David Attenborough used his platform to address directly to over 65 heads of state and government, issuing a warning.
“If ever we needed a strong signal from world leaders, for people like you, that we are going to solve this, then this is now,” he stated.
According to BBC, last year, a UN report stated that around one million species of animals are on the brink of extinction. The causes are numerous but most of them lead to the same culprit: humanity. Hunting, deforestation, anthropization of natural ecosystems and other human activities are threatening a wide array of species.
David Attenborough on filming his newest documentary
“It was an experience that stayed with me, but it was tinged with sadness, as I thought I might be seeing some of the last of their kind,” said Sir David on filming his documentary.
“I may not be here to see it, but if we make the right decisions at this critical moment, we can safeguard our planet’s ecosystems, its extraordinary biodiversity and all its inhabitants,” said Attenborough.
The last words we hear on his documentary raise a great question and challenge every viewer to reassess his stance over environment and nature: “What happens next is up to every one of us,” said Sir Attenborough.
After breaking the record of the shortest time to reach one million followers on Instagram last week, with only over four hours needed to do that, he used the social media platform to raise awareness of the climate crises. “As we all know, the world is in trouble,” he said. “Continents are on fire, glaciers are melting, coral reefs are dying, fish are dissapearing from our oceans. The list goes on and on. But we know what to do about it,” he concluded.
He is to appear on BBC Breakfast to further discuss in front of millions of viewers how the small changes that every person can make can save our planet.
