Attenborough at the World Economic Forum
This week is the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting taking place in Davos, Switzerland. It sees leaders of global society come together to discuss the issues most pressing in our world today – from globalisation and the digital economy, to the future of energy and sustainability.
Tuesday’s highlight was undoubtedly the great Sir David Attenborough in conversation with the Duke of Cambridge, talking all things from animal extinction to renewable energy solutions. Over the half hour interview, it became apparent that the scale of climate change, and humanity’s undeniable role in its sudden acceleration, is absolutely terrifying. Attenborough began by acknowledging that the issues we face are “international – you don’t need a language”. It’s true – the destruction to our environment can be seen all across the globe, including deforestation, animal extinction, and rising sea levels.
Our future?
The most “immediate danger” according to Attenborough, however, is our increasing temperatures. Throughout 2018, and continuing into 2019, it was widely reported that we must keep any future global temperature rises within 2 degrees Celsius, but preferably below 1.5 degrees, in order to limit catastrophic damage. “If we damage the natural world then we damage ourselves,” he said, labelling humanity and our planet “one coherent ecosystem”.
And he’s right – we’re dependent on our planet for absolutely everything. From the food we eat to the power we use, once we drain the world of its resources, that’s it. Thankfully, we’ve never been more aware of the problems we face – the problems we have created – and have never been more in touch with the natural world than we are now. Documentaries and work by activists like Attenborough are bringing these issues to the forefront of people’s minds and demand attention now.
The topic of renewable energy sources also came up in conversation, with both the Duke of Cambridge and Attenborough citing green forms of energy like solar and wind power as “where the future lies”. Attenborough goes on to say that we can “live in harmony with nature” if we stop relying on fossil fuels and start embracing more sustainable methods of energy generation.
Clearly, the time to act is now. “We have to take the option of protecting the natural world” was the underlying theme of the talk – but we all know that change is not merely an “option”. If you’d like to learn more about sustainability and making a positive difference to our planet, feel free to get in touch with our sustainability team who will be more than happy to have a chat.
