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Sir David Attenborough Blasts 'Powerful' Figures In Australia Who Don't Believe In Climate Change

Sir David Attenborough Blasts 'Powerful' Figures In Australia Who Don't Believe In Climate Change

He says he's been heartbroken to see the Great Barrier Reef go from 'multitude of wonderful forms and life' to 'stark white'.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Sir David Attenborough has delivered a heartbreaking and emotional speech at the UK Parliament's Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.

The documentary filmmaker said the people in charge of making decisions about the environment 'cannot be radical enough in dealing with these issues'.

Sir David said while efforts are ramping up, there are places around the world that are on the cusp of being destroyed.

One of those places is the Great Barrier Reef, according to the naturalist.

"I will never forget diving on the reef...and suddenly seeing, instead of this multitude of wonderful forms and life, that it was stark white," he told the Committee.

"It had bleached white because of the rising temperatures and the increasing acidity of the sea."

But then he geared up for a direct attack on those people who are standing in the way of effective change.

"I am sorry that there are people who are in power, and internationally, notably of course: the United States but also in Australia - which is extraordinary because Australia is already facing having to deal with some of the most extreme manifestations of climate change," he said.

Before And After Of The Great Barrier Reef Coral Bank
The Ocean Agency / XL Catlin Seaview Survey

"Both Australia and America - those voices are clearly heard - and one hopes that the electorate will actually respond to those."

"It's very, very important that voices of dissent should have a place where they're heard and the arguments between the two sides can be worked out in public, and compared and analysed in public, that's very important."

On the positive side of the speech, he said that he has faith in the younger generation because they seem to get the threat of climate change.

"The most encouraging thing I see is that the electorates of tomorrow are already making their voices very, very clear," he said.

PA

Sir David says we need to act now because in the next two to three decades, the world is likely going to experience some pretty messed up stuff that could throw everything out of whack.

That means we need to ramp up efforts to protect things like the Great Barrier Reef aka the world's largest living organism.

Because not only is it pretty but it's been protecting our coastlines, preventing tidal waves and tropical storms from washing away our cities, regulating the carbon dioxide levels of the ocean to combat climate change and keeping our air and beaches clean.

To support LADbible Australia's efforts to make The Great Barrier Reef an Australian citizen and get her the same rights as every other Aussie (most importantly, the right to life), click here and let the Australian government know that we can all do better.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News, david attenborough, Australia, Citizen Reef

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