Sir David Attenborough Titled ‘People’s Advocate’ Prior To The UN Climate Change Summit 2021

12 May 2021

British broadcaster and natural historian Sir David Attenborough has been titled as ‘People’s Advocate’ by the United Kingdom. He will be hosting a six-month long event called COP26 with the UK. This will involve Sir Attenborough addressing world leaders and decision makers at several important events across the globe.

COP26 is an effort to ‘accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement’, and Sir Attenborough has been chosen to put forward a ‘compelling case’ for climate action.

He comments:

“I am greatly honoured to be given the role of People’s Advocate. There could not be a more important moment that we should have international agreement. The epidemic has shown us how crucial it is to find agreement among nations if we are to solve such worldwide problems. But the problems that await us within the next 5 - 10 years are even greater. It is crucial that these meetings in Glasgow, COP26, have success, and that at last the nations will come together to solve the crippling problems that the world now faces.”

David Attenborough’s Climate Activism

Sir Attenborough has been a vocal climate activist and has emphasized the need for action time and again. Although not a vegan himself, he stated in 2019 that he has cut out red meat from his diet.

In his recent documentary A Life On Our Planet, he narrates the facts regarding the current state of the planet and relates it to diet, saying, “We must change our diet. The planet can’t support billions of meat-eaters. If we had a mostly plant-based diet we could increase the yield of the land.”

This statement has been crucial in bringing the relation between the food system and climate change to the mainstream.

Many are expecting Sir Attenborough to use this opportunity as the People’s Advocate to spread more awareness about animal agriculture and its link to climate change in the upcoming UN Climate Summit to be held in Glasgow in November 2021.

Image Courtesy: BBC

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