The 94-year-old broadcaster had claimed it is “already too late” to reverse climate change
Sir David Attenborough’s stark warning about the state of climate change is “overly simplistic”, according to a scientist from one of the UK’s leading climate research institutions.
Earlier this week, the legendary 94-year-old broadcaster claimed it is “already too late” to reverse the damage done by climate change.
However, this isn’t an assessment Dr Ella Gilbert from the University of Reading would agree with.
The University of Reading is a world-leading institution in the field of climate science, and Gilbert says any claim of the damage already being “done” is a little misleading.
“I think it’s overly simplistic,” she said, speaking exclusively to JOE.
“It’s going to be a huge challenge to reverse climate change – that is true – but I think saying that it’s too late is really not that helpful.”
Sir David Attenborough claimed it is “already too late” to reverse climate change. (Photo: Getty)It all comes down to damage limitation, according to Gilbert.
“It’s not like there’s a binary choice between climate change or no climate change. It’s the amount of climate change that occurs.”
In terms of combating climate change, Gilbert says the necessary steps are clear.
“The more effort we put in to mitigating climate change, reducing our emissions, switching to green technology and starting to invest in carbon-negative technology… That is going to be the difference between whether we have a four-degree world in 2100, or a two-degree world.
“That makes a really big difference, because that reduces the amount of intense natural weather events, and also increases the ability of people to adapt to those events.”
In a recent interview on the WWF’s Call of the Wild podcast, Attenborough was damning in his criticism of humanity’s environmental damage.
He said: “There are oil slicks and bits of plastic floating in the remotest part of the oceans. We have destroyed nature.”
Check out Dr Ella Gilbert’s YouTube channel here
