Legendary documentary filmmaker Sir David Attenborough has been honoured with the United Nations (UN) Environment programme’s most acclaimed title as a ‘Champion of the Earth’ for his commitment to telling stories about the natural world and climate change.
Attenborough received the award a day before Earth Day, where he said we must take action now to protect nature and the planet when accepting the award.
‘We know what the problems are and we know how to solve them. All we lack is unified action,’ he stated when receiving the lifetime achievement award.
He has been recording, writing and presenting films about the natural world since 1954. Now, at 95, has become a household name globally for his nature documentaries.
In the latter part of his career, he has gone beyond presenting stories about nature to advocating for wider action to tackle climate change, making a speech at the COP26 summit in Glasgow last year.
The four other champions of the earth award categories are Entrepreneurial Vision, Policy Leadership, Science and Innovation, and Inspiration and action.
Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, was awarded for her Policy leadership after her impassioned speeches on climate justice at the COP26 and UN General Assembly.
A full list of the UN’s Champions of the Earth recipients can be found here.
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