David Attenborough has given a warning about the climate crisis (Picture: Reuters/PA)

Failure to tackle climate change will bring great ‘social unrest’ and more immigration, Sir David Attenborough has warned.

The TV naturalist said that people would need to change their lifestyles, such as diet and air travel, if we are to make a real change to environmental problems.

Sir David said he had been talking about the issues to do with plastic for decades but people were now only just waking up to the problems of pollution.

Speaking to a panel of MPs, the broadcaster said he had seen a real decline in the natural world over the past few decades but it would be the future generations who would pay the price.




The 93-year-old said: ‘The problems of the next 20 to 30 years are major problems that are going to cause great social unrest and great changes in what we eat and how we live.

‘The problem you’re opening now is a very serious one. If the world climate change goes on, it is going to be facing huge problems with immigration.

‘Large parts of Africa are going to be even less inhabitable than they are now, and there will be major upsets in the balance between our national boundaries.

‘These kind of problems are going to grow inexorably and we are going to have to decide what we do about it, that’s going to happen.’

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Sir David was giving evidence to Parliament’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee as part of its inquiry into clean growth and international climate change targets.

Speaking on the issue of plastics, he said: ‘I’ve been going on about plastics for about 20 years.

‘Anybody who swims knows that, or anyone who travels can see the horrors of what plastic pollution can do.

‘I’ve been putting it in programmes for years and nobody took any notice.’

He added though that a two-minute clip in his programme Blue Planet II ‘rang a bell with people.’

Sir David Attenborough said he had been warning about plastics for 20 years, like these washed ashore near the port of Abidjan, Ivory Coast (Picture: AFP)

Sir David said that 50 years ago he never thought that man would be contributing to climate change.

He said that previously environmentalists had been concerned with the protection of a few endangered species but the problem is actually much worse.

Sir David added that the voices of ‘disbelief’ on climate change should not be stamped out because it was important they be heard in public.

But he added: ‘I’m sorry there are people who are in power internationally, notably of course the US, but also Australia, which is extraordinary because Australia is having to deal with some of the most extreme manifestations of climate change, and these voices are already heard.

‘One hopes the electorate will respond to that.’

Sir David said the UK had a ‘pretty good’ track record on dealing with environmental issues but added ‘you can’t be radical enough in dealing with issues at the moment.’

Naturalist Sir David Attenborough gave evidence to the House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee (Picture: PA)

He welcomed the UK’s new legal ‘net zero’ carbon emissions target for 2050 but warned it would cost money.

However he said there were ‘huge opportunities’ for people to make profit and benefit from new innovations.



The veteran broadcaster added one day he said polluting the planet would be as reviled as slavery.

And he said he had hope for the future because young people were starting to take actin.

He added: ‘The electorate of tomorrow are already making their voices very clear, that’s a source of great comfort.’