Watch Sir David Attenborough's full COP26 speech — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00as you spend the next two weeks
2. 0:03debating
3. 0:05negotiating persuading
4. 0:08and compromising as you surely must
5. 0:12it's easy to forget that ultimately
6. 0:15the emergency climate comes down to a
7. 0:17single number
8. 0:19the concentration of carbon in our
9. 0:21atmosphere
10. 0:23the measure
11. 0:24that greatly determines global
12. 0:27temperature
13. 0:29and the changes in that one number
14. 0:32is the clearest way to chart our own
15. 0:35story for it defines our relationship
16. 0:38with our world
17. 0:41for much of humanity's ancient history
18. 0:44that number
19. 0:45bounced wildly between 180 and 300
20. 0:50and so too
21. 0:51did global temperatures
22. 0:55it was
23. 0:56a brutal and unpredictable world
24. 1:00at times our ancestors existed only in
25. 1:04tiny numbers
26. 1:06but just over ten thousand years ago
27. 1:10that number suddenly stabilized and with
28. 1:14it
29. 1:15earth's climate
30. 1:19we found ourselves
31. 1:21in an unusually benign period
32. 1:25with predictable seasons and reliable
33. 1:27weather
34. 1:29for the first time
35. 1:31civilization was possible and we wasted
36. 1:35no time in taking advantage of that
37. 1:38everything we've achieved in the last 10
38. 1:41000 years
39. 1:43was enabled by the stability during this
40. 1:46time
41. 1:48the global temperature
42. 1:51has not wavered over this period by more
43. 1:53than plus or minus one degree celsius
44. 1:57until now
45. 2:01one
46. 2:01burning of fossils our burning of fossil
47. 2:04fuels our destruction of nature
48. 2:07our approach to industry construction
49. 2:10and learning are releasing carbon into
50. 2:12the atmosphere at an unprecedented pace
51. 2:16and scale
52. 2:19we are already
53. 2:21in trouble
54. 2:24the stability we all depend on
55. 2:28is breaking
56. 2:31this story
57. 2:33is one of inequality
58. 2:36as well as instability
59. 2:39today those who've done the least to
60. 2:41cause
61. 2:42this problem are being the hardest hit
62. 2:46ultimately all of us will feel the
63. 2:48impact some of which are now unavoidable
64. 3:01my world is melting you think you have
65. 3:04control we actually have no control i'm
66. 3:07absolutely terrified
67. 3:10to bring a child to this world
68. 3:12is this how our story is due to end
69. 3:15a tale of the smartest species doomed by
70. 3:20that all-too-human characteristic of
71. 3:22failing to see the bigger picture in
72. 3:25pursuit of short-term goals
73. 3:28perhaps the fact that the people most
74. 3:30affected by climate change are no longer
75. 3:33some imagined future generations but
76. 3:36young people alive today
77. 3:39perhaps that will give us the impetus we
78. 3:41need
79. 3:42to rewrite our story
80. 3:45to turn this tragedy
81. 3:47into a triumph
82. 3:49we are after all the greatest problem
83. 3:52solvers to have ever existed on earth
84. 3:56we now understand this problem
85. 3:59we know how to stop the number rising
86. 4:02and put it in reverse
87. 4:05we must have carbon emissions
88. 4:08halt them this decade
89. 4:10we must recapture billions of tons of
90. 4:12carbon from the air
91. 4:15we must fix our sites on keeping one and
92. 4:18a half degrees within reach
93. 4:22a new industrial revolution
94. 4:25powered by millions of sustainable
95. 4:28innovations
96. 4:29is essential
97. 4:32and is indeed already beginning
98. 4:36we will all share
99. 4:39in the benefits
100. 4:40affordable clean energy
101. 4:43healthy air
102. 4:44and enough food to sustain us all
103. 4:48nature is a key ally
104. 4:51whenever we restore the wild
105. 4:54it will recapture carbon
106. 4:56and help us bring back balance to our
107. 4:59planet
108. 5:01and as we work to build a better world
109. 5:04we must acknowledge
110. 5:06no nation has completed its development
111. 5:09because no advanced nation that is yet
112. 5:12sustainable
113. 5:14all have a journey still to compete
114. 5:17so that all nations have a good standard
115. 5:19of living
116. 5:20and a modest
117. 5:22footprint we're going to have to learn
118. 5:25together
119. 5:27how to achieve this
120. 5:28ensuring none are left behind
121. 5:32we must use this opportunity to create a
122. 5:34more equal world
123. 5:36and our motivation should not be fear
124. 5:39but hope
125. 5:49can we fix climate problem in one
126. 5:52generation my answer would be
127. 5:55yes
128. 5:57we have to
129. 5:58we need to not just to talk about
130. 6:02what we can do but
131. 6:04to do
132. 6:05what we can this is a challenge that we
133. 6:07should try to solve in a quick way with
134. 6:10the long-term vision
135. 6:13it comes down to this
136. 6:15the people alive now
137. 6:17are the generation to come
138. 6:20we'll look at this conference and
139. 6:22consider one thing
140. 6:25did that number stop rising and start to
141. 6:28drop as a result of commitments made
142. 6:30here
143. 6:31there's every reason to believe that the
144. 6:33answer can be yes
145. 6:37if
146. 6:38working apart
147. 6:40we are force powerful enough to
148. 6:42destabilize our planet
149. 6:44surely
150. 6:45working together we are powerful enough
151. 6:48to save it
152. 6:51in my lifetime
153. 6:53i've witnessed a terrible decline
154. 6:56in yours
155. 6:58you could and should witness a wonderful
156. 7:00recovery that desperate hope ladies and
157. 7:04gentlemen
158. 7:05delegates
159. 7:06excellency
160. 7:08is why the world is looking to you
161. 7:12and why you
162. 7:13are here
163. 7:15thank you
164. 7:17[Applause]