With the ongoing pandemic continuing to be the global priority, there are deepening concerns around the climate crisis. 

Thanks to campaigners like Greta Thunberg, we had finally started to see some real momentum around awareness and action over the last few years. But eco-anxiety is at an all-time high because it feels like global discussions around the crisis have stopped. 

With coronavirus now dominating the headlines, David Attenborough is currently reminding us of the reality of what our planet will look like if we do not take action.

Attenborough’s new Netflix film, A Life On Our Planet, arrives on the streaming service this weekend. During his lifetime, Attenborough has seen first-hand the monumental scale of humanity’s impact on nature, and this is explored in the documentary memoir that revisits his 60+ year career as a naturalist. 

The national treasure has spoken to BBC News about why he’ll never feel despondent, even in the face of a pandemic, saying: “I don’t despair because what will you go and do? Just go and hide in the corner? Crying in the corner and forgetting it all and giving up?

“And if there’s only a fragment of hope, we have a responsibility to do something about it.”

However, the fact is that many of us do feel helpless, especially with so much devastation happening in the world – but Attenborough shared the one choice we can all make.

“If there’s one choice to make today, what choice would you like people to make?” asked presenter Louise Minchin.

“Don’t waste,” he replied after a moment’s reflection. “Don’t waste anything. Don’t waste electricity, don’t waste food, don’t waste power. Just treat the natural world as though it’s precious, which it is. And don’t squander those bits of it that we have control of.” 

Watch the trailer for A Life On Our Planet

David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet is in cinemas now and available on Netflix from 4 October.

Images: Getty