The veteran naturalist and filmmaker Sir David Attenborough has told world leaders at the COP26 climate summit that future generations will judge them for their success or failure at the conference, which is taking place over the next two weeks in Glasgow, Scotland.
... [+]The veteran naturalist and filmmaker Sir David Attenborough has told world leaders at the COP26 climate summit to “rewrite our story,” and that future generations would judge them for their success or failure at the conference, which is taking place over the next two weeks in Glasgow, Scotland.
Speaking to an audience of delegates that included U.S. President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Attenborough said the climate emergency “comes down to a single number: the concentration of carbon in our atmosphere.” Accompanied by footage showing the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide at its current level of 414 parts per million, Attenborough pointed out that of CO2 “greatly determines global temperature ... and the changes in that one number is the clearest way to chart our own story.”
“We need to rewrite our story to turn this tragedy into a triumph,” he continued. “We are after all the greatest problem solvers to have ever existed on earth. We now understand this problem. We know how to stop the number rising and put it in reverse. We must halt carbon emissions this decade.” Attenborough, who strode to the stage with a purpose that belied his 95 years, delivered his speech along with a film that illustrated 300,000 years of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, along with accompanying increases and decreases in average global temperatures. Also shown were climate activists from around the world, with messages of concern and hope.