Beloved Naturalist Says Fate of Humanity Hangs in the Balance

David Attenborough called climate change the worst threat to mankind in thousands of years
By Josh Gardner,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 3, 2018 4:40 PM CST
David Attenborough Issues Dire Warning at UN Climate Summit
Sir David Attenborough poses for photographers upon arrival for a WWF announcement.   (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Sir David Attenborough was holding no punches during an address Monday at a summit hosted by the United Nations. Per BBC, the beloved British naturalist used his time at the podium to issue a dire warning to humanity regarding climate change: "If we don't take action, the collapse of our civilizations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon." Attenborough, known worldwide for his uniquely passionate nature documentary narrations, was invited to the COP24 UN climate conference in the city of Katowice as a representative of the people of the world, many of who sent in messages that Attenborough reportedly used to inform his speech.

"The world's people have spoken," Attenborough said, per CNN. "Their message is clear. Time is running out." Attenborough went on to issue a call to world leaders to take decisive action now. "The continuation of our civilizations and the natural world on which we depend is in your hands," he said. The 92-year-old specifically addressed the US after he was questioned about the Trump administration's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. "Join the rest of the world," he urged the US. (Meanwhile, several US cities and at least one state have opted themselves into the worldwide accord regardless of the president's intentions.)

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