This morning, while his wife Kate Middleton was working away on her mission to help children in the U.K., Prince William was calling attention to a passion point of his own. William and beloved British broadcaster David Attenborough took to the stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos—one of the world's most high profile international gatherings—to discuss the past and future of environmentalism. You can watch the entire 30-minute conversation below: This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. The pair discussed Attenborough's ecological advocacy, a cause he's managed to champion through a series of hit television programs, among other initiatives. They also talked about the formidable challenges in store for future generations of green activists. Prince William has long been an admirer of Attenborough's work. He's credited the broadcaster as "the single most important impact in my conservation thinking." And in 2016 BBC program tied to Attenborough's 90th birthday, William called him a "national treasure... I used to love, and I still do, but when I was a young boy, used to love turning on the television and watching David's programs and really feeling like I was back out in Africa or I was learning about something magical and almost out of this planet." Prince William and David Attenborough onstage at Davos. FABRICE COFFRINI Getty Images At 92, Attenborough isn't slowing down. Just yesterday, while accepting a Crystal Award at Davos for his environmental leadership, Attenborough called once again for action in the face of a changing climate. "We can create a world with clean air and water, unlimited energy and fish stocks that will sustain us well into the future. But to do that, we need a plan." This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io<doc-sep>Sir David Attenborough has warned that “the Garden of Eden is no more”, as he urged political and business leaders from around the world to make a renewed push to tackle climate change before the damage is irreparable. Speaking at the start of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, the 92-year-old naturalist and broadcaster warned that human activity has taken the world into a new era, threatening to undermine civilisation. “I am quite literally from another age,” Attenborough told an audience of business leaders, politicians and other delegates. “I was born during the Holocene – the 12,000 [year] period of climatic stability that allowed humans to settle, farm, and create civilisations.” That led to trade in ideas and goods, and made us the “globally connected species we are today”. Quick Guide What is Davos 2020? Show Davos is a Swiss ski resort now more famous for hosting the annual four-day conference for the World Economic Forum. For participants it is a festival of networking. Getting an invitation is a sign you have made it – and the elaborate system of badges reveals your place in the Davos hierarchy. The meeting is sponsored by a huge number of international banks and corporations. For critics, “Davos man” is shorthand for the globe-trotting elite, disconnected from their home countries after spending too much time in the club-class lounge. Others just wonder if it is all a big waste of time. The 2020 meeting is being advertised as focusing on seven themes: Fairer economies, better business, healthy futures, future of work, tech for good, beyond geopolitics and how to save the planet. Young climate activists and school strikers from around the world will be present at the event to put pressure on world leaders over that last theme. Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback. That stability allowed businesses to grow, nations to co-operate and people to share ideas, Attenborough explained, before warning sombrely: “In the space of my lifetime, all that has changed. “The Holocene has ended. The Garden of Eden is no more. We have changed the world so much that scientists say we are in a new geological age: the Anthropocene, the age of humans,” he declared. In a stark warning to the world leaders and business chiefs flocking to the WEF this week, Attenborough warned that the only conditions that humans have known are changing fast. “We need to move beyond guilt or blame, and get on with the practical tasks at hand.” A survey conducted before the WEF found that environmental threats are now the biggest danger to the global economy, and concern is mounting that co-operation between countries on the issue is breaking down. Attenborough admitted that even he has been surprised by the speed of the damage caused to the environment during his career making TV programmes showing life on earth. In response, Attenborough – recently voted Britain’s most trustworthy celebrity – said humans must use their expert problem-solving skills. “If people can truly understand what is at stake, I believe they will give permission for business and governments to get on with the practical solutions,” he told the WEF. Get it right, he argued, and humans can create a world with clean air and water, unlimited energy and sustainable fish stocks, but only if decisive action is taken now. “Over the next two years there will be United Nations decisions on climate change, sustainable development and a new deal for nature. Together these will form our species’ plan for a route through the Anthropocene. “What we do now, and in the next few years, will profoundly affect the next few thousand years,” he added. Speaking to journalists after his speech, Attenborough warned that economic models needed to change. “Growth is going to come to an end, either suddenly or in a controlled way,” he explained, citing the old joke that anyone who thinks you can have infinite growth in finite circumstances is “either a madman or an economist”. He is also hopeful that he can change hearts and minds during his trip to Davos, pointing out that some delegates have more power than a nation state. “The enormity of the problem has only just dawned on quite a lot of people ... Unless we sort ourselves out in the next decade or so we are dooming our children and our grandchildren to an appalling future.” Before he spoke, Attenborough received the Crystal award from the WEF for his work. Saudi Arabia’s first female film-maker, Haifaa al-Mansour, and conductor Marin Alsop of the Baltimore Symphony were also honoured for their work. Prince William is due to appear with Attenborough to discuss environmental issues at the WEF on Tuesday.<doc-sep>Prince William today interviewed Sir David Attenborough at Davos and the naturalist directly warned the rich and powerful watching: 'We're in danger of destroying the natural world - and ourselves'. British royalty met with TV royalty on stage in front of billionaires and world leaders after they flew into the Swiss Alps to attend the 49th World Economic Forum (WEF). The Duke of Cambridge has described the Blue Planet and Dynasties narrator as having 'the single most important impact in my conservation thinking'. William today asked Sir David about his decades of work - and his message for the leaders watching them on stage. Sir David, 92, warned of a climate 'crisis' and said: 'Care for the Natural World - not only that - treat it with respect and reverence. We can wreck it all without even noticing and in the end we will wreck ourselves'. He added: 'Every breath we take and everything we eat comes from the natural world. We are destroying that world and ourselves'. The Duke of Cambridge then responded by saying: 'People of my generation are beginning to step into positions of leadership around the world. The work to save the planet is largely going to happen on our watch.' Prince William is interviewing Sir David Attenborough about the wonders of the natural world in front of Davos' billionaires and decision makers today William and Sir David watch a glacier crashing into the sea for the star's new show Our Planet, released on Netflix in April. Sir David discussed the difficulty in capturing the fast-moving glaciers on film, William joked that they were 'a bit like children' As the crowd cheers for the pair Sir David waved his arms towards Prince William in his own personal tribute William hailed the impact of Sir David's programmes and said they had been 'seen be literally billions of people world-wide' and trailed his new show Our Planet, released on Netflix in April. As Sir David discussed the difficulty in capturing the fast-moving glaciers on film, William joked that they were 'a bit like children - unpredictable'. William paid tribute to Sir David's career in broadcasting and the shows he said had been seen by billions around the world Sir David won a standing ovation from delegates after warning them that the planet faces destruction if climate change is not dealt with imminently. He said it is 'difficult to overstate the climate change crisis' adding humans have become 'so numerous' and possess a 'frightening' array of destructive mechanisms that 'we can exterminate whole ecosystems without realizing.' The heir to the British throne had started the interview by saying: 'It's a personal treat for me to be sitting here you asking questions. Normally I have to endure people asking me questions so it's quite nice to be turning the tables for once.' The royal then asked if he was surprised people are still interested in his shows, which he started making 60 years ago. Sir David said: 'There is not a child born in the world without that interest in the world around them. 'That interest goes on and on and on. A five-year-old will turn over a stone and find a slug and find it amazing. If you lose that first wonder you have lost the greatest sources of pleasure of the whole of the wide world'. Describing the changes in technology since he started working for the BBC he told William: 'Around 50 or 60 years ago we would film something like an armadillo, which most people in Britain or indeed Europe had never seen. 'It didn't matter how amateurish it was - the viewer just saw an armadillo and were just astonished. 'Now we can go everywhere - to the bottom of the sea or into space, slow things down, speed things up or film in the dark. We are doing things that 20 years ago nobody could ever imagine'. The Prince asked his esteemed interviewee what he wanted to say to his generation. The 92-year-old said: 'In ordinary lives what I think of is not to waste the natural resources we rely on. Don't throw away food or power. Just care for the world of which we are part'. He added: 'We are all one world and that's what people need to recognise'. Prince William said it was his generation who would have to 'work to save the planet' Sir David urged the billionaires and business and world leaders to care for the planet, warning it is being killed off The Duke of Cambridge has described the Blue Planet and Dynasties narrator (pictured together today) as having 'the single most important impact in my conservation thinking'. The pair have met many times, and William invited him to Kensington Palace last week ahead of their on-stage conversation in Davos. Sir David and the Queen have also developed a good relationship over the years. The pair, who were born just weeks apart, chuckled over a forlorn-looking tree in the Buckingham Palace grounds which the Queen suggested had been 'sat on' at a garden party. When Sir David suggested climate change might lead to 'all kinds of different trees growing here in another 50 years', the Queen quipped: 'It might easily be, yes. I won't be here though.' The celebrated TV naturalist said yesterday the age of the 'Garden of Eden' is over and the world is on the brink of disaster due to climate change. The 92-year-old said he was born in the so-called Holocene period, dating back to the last ice age when mild weather allowed human civilisation to flourish. But since his early years, Sir David said, the world has been transformed by pollution and heavy industry and we are now in the Anthropocene era - Greek for the age of man. Speaking he said: 'I am quite literally from another age. I was born during the Holocene - the 12,000 year period of climatic stability that allowed humans to settle, farm, and create civilisations. 'In the space of my lifetime, all that has changed.' Sir David said the rise of the modern world means that urgent action is needed to protect the natural environment he has spent his life chronicling. David Attenborough reacts after receiving a Crystal Award from German Hilde Schwab, Chairperson and Co-Founder of Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship yesterday He warned that the world is on the brink of disaster, but is hopeful that human ingenuity can find solutions. He said: 'The Holocene has ended. The Garden of Eden is no more. 'We have changed the world so much that scientists say we are in a new geological age. 'We need to move beyond guilt or blame, and get on with the practical tasks at hand.' Sir David added that he has been shocked by how fast the world has been transformed.<doc-sep>
Sir David Attenborough has warned that humankind has the power to exterminate whole ecosystems “without even noticing”, and urged world leaders to treat the natural world with respect, during an interview with Prince William in Davos. Prince William also took world leaders to task at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, asking Attenborough why those in key positions have “taken so long” to address climate change. Attenborough said the connection between the natural world and urban societies had been “remote and widening” since the industrial revolution, meaning humans do not realise the effect their actions have on the global ecosystem. The 92-year-old broadcaster added that it was “difficult to overstate” the urgency of the environmental crisis. Quick Guide What is Davos 2020? Show Davos is a Swiss ski resort now more famous for hosting the annual four-day conference for the World Economic Forum. For participants it is a festival of networking. Getting an invitation is a sign you have made it – and the elaborate system of badges reveals your place in the Davos hierarchy. The meeting is sponsored by a huge number of international banks and corporations. For critics, “Davos man” is shorthand for the globe-trotting elite, disconnected from their home countries after spending too much time in the club-class lounge. Others just wonder if it is all a big waste of time. The 2020 meeting is being advertised as focusing on seven themes: Fairer economies, better business, healthy futures, future of work, tech for good, beyond geopolitics and how to save the planet. Young climate activists and school strikers from around the world will be present at the event to put pressure on world leaders over that last theme. Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback. “We’re now so numerous, so powerful, so all-pervasive, the mechanisms we have for destruction are so wholesale and so frightening, that we can actually exterminate whole ecosystems without even noticing it. We have to now be really aware of the dangers of what we’re doing, and we already know that of course the plastic problem in the seas is wreaking appalling damage upon marine life, the extent of which we don’t yet fully know.” He stressed that the natural world “is not just a matter of beauty, interest and wonder” but a coherent ecosystem on which we depend for “every breath we take, every mouthful of food we take.” A healthy planet, Attenborough added, is an essential part of human life. “If we don’t recognise the kind of connections I’ve been describing, then the whole planet comes in hazard, and we are destroying the natural world and with it ourselves.” 02:22 'The Garden of Eden is no more', David Attenborough warns Davos summit – video William pressed Attenborough for a key message for the politicians and business leaders gathered in Davos this week. “Care for the natural world. Not only care for the natural world but treat it with a degree of respect and reverence,” Attenborough said, adding that there was a worrying tendency to waste resources. “The thing that I really care for in our ordinary daily lives is not to waste the riches of the natural world on which we depend. And it’s not just energy ,which of course is very important, but it’s also dealing with the natural world with a degree of respect. Not to throw away food, not to throw away power – just care for the natural world of which you’re an essential part.” The Duke of Cambridge started and ended the session by congratulating Attenborough for winning the Crystal award, which recognises individuals who have helped make the world a better place, at the World Economic Forum on Monday night. William added it was a “personal treat” to be asking Attenborough questions, and quipped that it was a good change of pace from being the subject of interviews himself. Asking why global leaders have taken so long to react to climate change, William said: ““Why do you think world leaders and those in key positions of leadership; why do think they’ve taken so long … there have been quite a few faltering steps to act on environmental challenges?” Prince William greets Sir David Attenborough on stage at Davos.