Editing David Attenborough (section)

==Views and advocacy==
===Environment===
[[File:David Attenborough.jpg|thumb|right|Attenborough in 2003 at the launch of [[ARKive]] – a global initiative with the mission of "promoting the conservation of the world's threatened species, through the power of wildlife imagery"]]
Attenborough's programmes have often included references to the [[human impact on the environment|impact of human society]] on the natural world. The last episode of ''The Living Planet'', for example, focuses almost entirely on humans' destruction of the environment and ways that it could be stopped or reversed. Despite this, he has been criticised for not giving enough prominence to environmental messages. In 2018 while promoting ''Dynasties'', he said that repeated messages on threats to wildlife in programming could be a "turn-off" to viewers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 November 2018 |title=David Attenborough: too much alarmism on environment a turn-off |url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/04/attenborough-dynasties-ecological-campaign |access-date=27 August 2021 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=27 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827083303/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/04/attenborough-dynasties-ecological-campaign |url-status=live}}</ref>

Some environmentalists feel that programmes like Attenborough's give a false picture of idyllic wilderness and do not do enough to acknowledge that such areas are increasingly encroached upon by humans.<ref>James Fair, "Small Things Bright and Beautiful", BBC Wildlife Magazine, November 2005, pp. 25–26.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jan/01/planet-earth-ii-david-attenborough-martin-hughes-games-bbc-springwatch|title= Planet Earth II 'a disaster for world's wildlife' says rival nature producer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029131211/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jan/01/planet-earth-ii-david-attenborough-martin-hughes-games-bbc-springwatch |archive-date=29 October 2020 |work=The Guardian|date= January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=7 November 2018 |title=David Attenborough has betrayed the living world he loves {{!}} George Monbiot|url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/07/david-attenborough-world-environment-bbc-films|access-date=27 August 2021|website=The Guardian|archive-date=27 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827084422/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/07/david-attenborough-world-environment-bbc-films|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Julia P. G. |title=Our Planet is billed as an Attenborough documentary with a difference but it shies away from uncomfortable truths |url=http://theconversation.com/our-planet-is-billed-as-an-attenborough-documentary-with-a-difference-but-it-shies-away-from-uncomfortable-truths-114889 |access-date=27 August 2021 |website=The Conversation |date=5 April 2019 |archive-date=2 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902183104/https://theconversation.com/our-planet-is-billed-as-an-attenborough-documentary-with-a-difference-but-it-shies-away-from-uncomfortable-truths-114889 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, the increased urgency of environmental messaging in films such as ''[[Extinction: The Facts]]'', which depicts the continuing [[sixth mass extinction]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Sir David Attenborough makes stark warning about species extinction |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54118769 |work=BBC News |date=12 September 2020 |access-date=30 October 2021 |archive-date=30 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030072157/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54118769 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Climate Change – The Facts]]'' and [[David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet|''A Life on Our Planet'']] from 2019 and 2020 received praise.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Julia P. G. |title='Extinction: The Facts': Attenborough's new documentary is surprisingly radical |url=http://theconversation.com/extinction-the-facts-attenboroughs-new-documentary-is-surprisingly-radical-146127 |access-date=27 August 2021 |website=The Conversation |date=14 September 2020 |archive-date=27 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827084459/https://theconversation.com/extinction-the-facts-attenboroughs-new-documentary-is-surprisingly-radical-146127 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=25 September 2020 |title=David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet review – stark climate emergency warning |url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/sep/25/david-attenborough-a-life-on-our-planet-review-climate-emergency-documentary |access-date=27 August 2021 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=1 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901172325/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/sep/25/david-attenborough-a-life-on-our-planet-review-climate-emergency-documentary |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=22 March 2019 |title=Attenborough to front climate-change film as BBC moves from teach to preach |url=http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/mar/22/attenborough-to-front-climate-change-film-as-bbc-moves-from-teach-to-preach |access-date=27 August 2021 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=27 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827084419/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/mar/22/attenborough-to-front-climate-change-film-as-bbc-moves-from-teach-to-preach |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=19 April 2019 |title=David Attenborough climate change TV show a 'call to arms' |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-47988337 |access-date=27 August 2021 |archive-date=27 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827083803/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-47988337 |url-status=live}}</ref> In ''[[Seven Worlds, One Planet]]'', Attenborough  discusses the devastating impact that [[deforestation]] is having on the planet and the species.<ref>{{cite news |title='Harrowing' and 'heartbreaking': Sir David Attenborough's new documentary shocks viewers |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/117170122/harrowing-and-heartbreaking-sir-david-attenboroughs-new-documentary-shocks-viewers |work=Stuff.co.nz |date=5 November 2019 |access-date=30 October 2021 |archive-date=30 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030072158/https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/117170122/harrowing-and-heartbreaking-sir-david-attenboroughs-new-documentary-shocks-viewers |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2005 and 2006, Attenborough backed a [[BirdLife International]] project to stop the killing of [[albatross]] by [[longline fishing]] boats.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.savethealbatross.net/the_latest/the_latest_item.asp?newsid=24 |title=Personal plea by David Attenborough |publisher=savethealbatross.net |date=27 January 2006 |access-date=22 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061229153331/http://www.savethealbatross.net/the_latest/the_latest_item.asp?newsid=24 |archive-date=29 December 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He gave support to [[World Wide Fund for Nature|WWF]]'s campaign to have 220,000&nbsp;square kilometres of [[Borneo]]'s rainforest [[Heart of Borneo|designated a protected area]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wwf.org.uk/core/about/ta_0000001801.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909100837/https://www.wwf.org.uk/core/about/ta_0000001801.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 September 2006 |title=Sir David Attenborough: Heart of Borneo is a global heritage |publisher=WWF-UK press release}}</ref> He serves as a vice-president of [[The Conservation Volunteers]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Governance {{!}} TCV|url=https://www.tcv.org.uk/about/governance/|url-status=live|access-date=5 September 2021|website=The Conservation Volunteers|date=20 March 2012 |archive-date=29 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629031652/https://www.tcv.org.uk/about/governance/}}</ref> vice-president of [[Fauna and Flora International]],<ref>{{Cite news |title=People {{!}} Fauna & Flora International|url=https://www.fauna-flora.org/people|url-status=live|access-date=5 September 2021|website=Fauna & Flora International|archive-date=7 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171007074644/http://www.fauna-flora.org/about/presidents/}}</ref> president of [[Butterfly Conservation]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our President – Sir David Attenborough |url=https://butterfly-conservation.org/about-us/our-president-sir-david-attenborough |access-date=5 September 2021 |website=butterfly-conservation.org |archive-date=6 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306124102/https://butterfly-conservation.org/about-us/our-president-sir-david-attenborough |url-status=live}}</ref> and president emeritus of [[Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=News {{!}} Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust|url=https://www.lrwt.org.uk/news/tag/david-attenborough|access-date=5 September 2021|website=www.lrwt.org.uk|date=25 October 2019 |archive-date=19 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119173754/https://www.lrwt.org.uk/news/tag/david-attenborough|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2003, Attenborough launched an appeal on behalf of the [[World Land Trust]] to create a [[rainforest]] reserve in [[Ecuador]] in memory of Christopher Parsons, the producer of ''Life on Earth'' and a personal friend, who had died the previous year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rainforest Saved in Memory of Christopher Parsons – World Land Trust |author=Farrows |work=World Land Trust |date=25 May 2021 |access-date=6 September 2021 |url=https://www.worldlandtrust.org/news/2003/09/rainforest-saved-in-memory-of-christopher-parsons/ |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225102353/https://www.worldlandtrust.org/news/2003/09/rainforest-saved-in-memory-of-christopher-parsons/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The same year, he helped to launch [[ARKive]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/conservation/story/0,,969572,00.html |title=Arkive sets sail on the web |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=20 May 2003 |location=London |first=Ashley |last=Davies |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905203611/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2003/may/20/conservationandendangeredspecies.uknews |url-status=live}}</ref> a global project instigated by Parsons to gather together natural history media into a digital library. ARKive is an initiative of [[Wildscreen]], of which Attenborough is a patron.<ref name="AR-2010">{{cite book |title=WildScreen Annual Review 2010 |url=http://www.wildscreen.org.uk/downloads/AnnualReview2010.pdf |access-date=11 July 2011 |publisher=[[Wildscreen]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715110342/http://www.wildscreen.org.uk/downloads/AnnualReview2010.pdf |archive-date=15 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He later became patron of the World Land Trust. In 2020, he backed a Fauna and Flora International campaign calling for a global moratorium on [[deep sea mining]] for its impact on marine life.<ref>{{Cite web|date=12 March 2020|title=David Attenborough calls for ban on 'devastating' deep sea mining|url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/12/david-attenborough-calls-for-ban-on-devastating-deep-sea-mining|access-date=7 September 2021|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=6 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906031542/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/12/david-attenborough-calls-for-ban-on-devastating-deep-sea-mining|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Sir David Attenborough & President Obama.webm|thumb|Attenborough and US President [[Barack Obama]] discuss the natural world at the [[White House]] (2015).]]
During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Attenborough advocated on behalf of the [[Zoological Society of London]] (ZSL) and its conservation efforts, which have been impacted by the economic fallout from the pandemic.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 July 2020 |title=Attenborough warns London Zoo risks 'extinction' |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-53346800 |access-date=20 July 2020 |archive-date=11 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711053503/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-53346800 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2020, Attenborough was named as a member of the [[Earthshot prize]] Council,<ref>{{Cite web |title=AKDN partners with Prince William in Earthshot prize |url=https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/science-health/akdn-partners-with-prince-william-in-earthshot-prize-2723128 |access-date=27 October 2020 |website=The East African |date=27 October 2020 |archive-date=27 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027085349/https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/science-health/akdn-partners-with-prince-william-in-earthshot-prize-2723128 |url-status=live}}</ref> an initiative of [[Prince William, Duke of Cambridge|Prince William]] to find solutions to environmental issues.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sh7bn environment 'Nobel' prize launched |url=https://nation.africa/kenya/news/sh7bn-environment-nobel-prize-launched-2461136 |access-date=14 October 2020 |website=Nation |date=9 October 2020 |archive-date=15 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015010055/https://nation.africa/kenya/news/sh7bn-environment-nobel-prize-launched-2461136 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=8 October 2020 |title=AKDN launches Earthshot Prize in partnership with Prince William |url=https://tbsnews.net/bangladesh/education/akdn-launches-earthshot-prize-partnership-prince-william-142951 |access-date=14 October 2020 |website=Business Standard |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123023553/https://tbsnews.net/bangladesh/education/akdn-launches-earthshot-prize-partnership-prince-william-142951 |url-status=live}}</ref> He is a patron of the [[Friends of Richmond Park]] and serves on the advisory board of [[BBC Wildlife|BBC Wildlife magazine]].<ref name="FRP">{{cite news |author=Christine Fleming |date=3 April 2011 |title=Sir David Attenborough steps up as Friends of Richmond Park marks golden anniversary |publisher=This is Local London (Newsquest) |url=http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/8949352.Sir_David_steps_up_at_park_party/ |url-status=dead |access-date=1 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201221605/http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/8949352.Sir_David_steps_up_at_park_party/ |archive-date=1 February 2014}}</ref>

Attenborough was initially sceptical about the human influence on [[climate change]] and stated that a 2004 lecture finally convinced him humans were responsible. He remained silent on the issue until 2006.<ref>{{cite news |last=Attenborough |first=David |date=24 May 2006 |title=Climate change is the major challenge facing the world |work=[[The Independent]] |location=London |url=http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article570935.ece |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516005117/http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article570935.ece |archive-date=16 May 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hickman |first=Leo |date=13 August 2018 |title=The 2004 lecture that finally convinced David Attenborough about global warming |url=https://www.carbonbrief.org/the-2004-lecture-that-finally-convinced-david-attenborough-about-global-warming |url-status=live |access-date=5 September 2021 |website=Carbon Brief |archive-date=17 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817192300/https://www.carbonbrief.org/the-2004-lecture-that-finally-convinced-david-attenborough-about-global-warming}}</ref> Attenborough attended and spoke at [[2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference|COP26]] as the "People's Advocate" for the event and urged world leaders to act to reduce emissions.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1 November 2021|title=The Latest: Attenborough: Earth's stable climate is breaking|url=https://apnews.com/article/science-business-boris-johnson-scotland-glasgow-05be3f0be78eeb46790168c88b453923|access-date=1 November 2021|website=AP NEWS|language=en|archive-date=1 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101101931/https://apnews.com/article/science-business-boris-johnson-scotland-glasgow-05be3f0be78eeb46790168c88b453923|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=26 October 2021|title=David Attenborough says Britain has 'moral responsibility' to 'act now' on climate|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/david-attenborough-cop26-boris-johnson-b1945431.html|access-date=1 November 2021|website=The Independent|language=en|archive-date=30 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030043639/https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/david-attenborough-cop26-boris-johnson-b1945431.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He supported [[Glyndebourne]] in their successful application to obtain planning permission for a [[wind turbine]] in an [[Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]] and gave evidence at the planning inquiry arguing in favour of the proposal.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gammel |first=Caroline |date=11 July 2018 |title='Giant' wind turbine for Glyndebourne |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2286858/Giant-wind-turbine-for-Glyndebourne.html |url-status=live |access-date=15 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110311163555/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2286858/Giant-wind-turbine-for-Glyndebourne.html |archive-date=11 March 2011}}</ref> In his 2020 documentary film ''[[David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet]]'', Attenborough advocates for people to adopt a vegetarian diet or to reduce meat consumption to save [[wildlife]], noting that "the planet can't support billions of meat-eaters."<ref>{{cite news |last=Dalton |first=Jane |date=26 August 2020 |title=Go vegetarian to save wildlife and the planet, Sir David Attenborough urges |work=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/david-attenborough-vegetarian-vegan-meat-life-our-planet-netflix-wildlife-earth-a9689816.html |access-date=9 October 2020 |archive-date=5 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005110225/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/david-attenborough-vegetarian-vegan-meat-life-our-planet-netflix-wildlife-earth-a9689816.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Human population ===
Attenborough has linked anthropogenic effects on the environment with [[human population growth]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 January 2020|title=David Attenborough warns 'human beings have overrun the world' in new film|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/a-life-on-our-planet-trailer-david-attenborough-new-film-teaser-release-date-385845|access-date=7 September 2021|website=inews.co.uk|language=en|archive-date=7 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907202909/https://inews.co.uk/news/a-life-on-our-planet-trailer-david-attenborough-new-film-teaser-release-date-385845|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Morris|first=Sophie|date=14 January 2020|title=Chris Packham thinks we might need a one-child policy to save the world|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/long-reads/chris-packham-7-7-billion-people-counting-bbc2-world-population-growth-385351|access-date=5 November 2021|website=inews.co.uk|language=en|archive-date=5 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105201612/https://inews.co.uk/news/long-reads/chris-packham-7-7-billion-people-counting-bbc2-world-population-growth-385351|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Schofield|first=Claire|date=21 January 2020|title=Chris Packham: 7.7 Billion People and Counting: when the documentary is on TV|url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/chris-packham-7-7-billion-people-and-counting-documentary-when-bbc-two-date-time-387015|access-date=5 November 2021|website=inews.co.uk|language=en|archive-date=5 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105201611/https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/chris-packham-7-7-billion-people-and-counting-documentary-when-bbc-two-date-time-387015|url-status=live}}</ref> He has attracted criticism for his views on [[human overpopulation]]<ref name=":1" >{{Cite web |last=Manavis |first=Sarah |date=3 November 2020 |title=David Attenborough's claim that humans have overrun the planet is his most popular comment |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/environment/2020/11/david-attenborough-s-claim-humans-have-overrun-planet-his-most-popular |url-status=live |access-date=28 August 2021 |website=New Statesman |quote=A new study shows that Attenborough's unverified claims regarding overpopulation dominate social media discourse |archive-date=3 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803154828/https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/environment/2020/11/david-attenborough-s-claim-humans-have-overrun-planet-his-most-popular}}</ref> and [[Human population planning|human population control]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Tran |first=Mark |date=18 September 2013 |title=David Attenborough: Trying to tackle famine with bags of flour is 'barmy' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/sep/18/david-attenborough-famine-population |url-status=live |website=The Guardian |access-date=23 August 2021 |archive-date=23 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823214515/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/sep/18/david-attenborough-famine-population}}</ref> He is a patron of [[Population Matters]],<ref name="popm">{{cite news |last1=Vidal |first1=John |date=14 April 2009 |title=Attenborough becomes patron for Optimum Population Trust |newspaper=The Guardian |publisher=The Guardian, UK broadsheet newspaper |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2009/apr/14/attenborough-patron-optimum-population-trust |url-status=live |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709001127/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2009/apr/14/attenborough-patron-optimum-population-trust |archive-date=9 July 2017}}</ref> a UK charity advocating for [[family planning]], sustainable consumption and proposed [[Sustainable population|sustainable human population]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Sir David Attenborough warns against large families and predicts things will only get worse |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/sep/10/david-attenborough-human-evolution-stopped |work=The Guardian |date=10 September 2021 |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-date=11 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211131905/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/sep/10/david-attenborough-human-evolution-stopped |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="popmat">{{cite web |title=Attenborough is new OPT patron |url=http://www.populationmatters.org/2009/press/attenborough-opt-patron/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102144305/http://www.populationmatters.org/2009/press/attenborough-opt-patron/ |archive-date=2 January 2016 |website=populationmatters.org |publisher=Population Matters, UK Charity}}</ref> In a 2013 interview with the ''[[Radio Times]]'', Attenborough described humans as a "plague on the Earth",<ref>{{cite web |date=22 January 2013 |title=David Attenborough: "Humans are a plague on the Earth" |url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-01-22/david-attenborough-humans-are-a-plague-on-the-earth |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808052741/http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-01-22/david-attenborough-humans-are-a-plague-on-the-earth |archive-date=8 August 2014 |access-date=28 June 2014 |website=Radio Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Gray |first=Louise |date=22 January 2013 |title=David Attenborough – Humans are plague on Earth |work=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/9815862/Humans-are-plague-on-Earth-Attenborough.html |url-status=live |access-date=27 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120085247/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/9815862/Humans-are-plague-on-Earth-Attenborough.html |archive-date=20 November 2016}}</ref> and described the act of [[Aid|sending food]] to [[famine]]-stricken countries as "barmy" for population reasons.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{cite news |title=David Attenborough says sending food to famine-ridden countries is 'barmy' |website=The Independent |publisher=The Independent, newsgroup |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/david-attenborough-says-sending-food-to-famineridden-countries-is-barmy-8823602.html |url-status=live |access-date=26 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925162536/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/david-attenborough-says-sending-food-to-famineridden-countries-is-barmy-8823602.html |archive-date=25 September 2015}}</ref> He called for more debate about human population growth,<ref name=":3" /> saying that since he "first started making programmes 60 years ago, the human population has tripled."<ref>{{cite news |title=Is population growth out of control? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24303537 |work=BBC News |date=29 September 2013 |access-date=30 October 2021 |archive-date=30 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030113011/https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24303537 |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to Attenborough, improving [[women's rights]] around the world is an effective way "to limit our birth rate".<ref name="Mongabay"/> He said that "anyone who thinks that you can have infinite growth in a finite environment is either a madman or an economist."<ref name="Mongabay">{{cite news |last1=Cardwell |first1=Mark Riley |title=David Attenborough: someone who believes in infinite growth is 'either a madman or an economist' |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2013/10/david-attenborough-someone-who-believes-in-infinite-growth-is-either-a-madman-or-an-economist/ |work=[[Mongabay]] |date=16 October 2013 |access-date=30 October 2021 |archive-date=30 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030072159/https://news.mongabay.com/2013/10/david-attenborough-someone-who-believes-in-infinite-growth-is-either-a-madman-or-an-economist/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Religious views ===
Attenborough considers himself an agnostic.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/listen/audioarchive.shtml Interview] with [[Simon Mayo]], [[BBC Radio Five Live]], 2 December 2005 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301170556/http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/listen/audioarchive.shtml |date=1 March 2009 }}</ref> When asked whether his observation of the natural world has given him faith in a creator, he generally responds with some version of this story, making reference to the ''[[Onchocerca volvulus]]'' parasitic worm:

{{blockquote|My response is that when Creationists talk about God creating every individual species as a separate act, they always instance [[hummingbird]]s, or [[orchids]], sunflowers and beautiful things. But I tend to think instead of a parasitic worm that is boring through the eye of a boy sitting on the bank of a river in West Africa, [a worm] that's going to make him blind. And [I ask them], 'Are you telling me that the God you believe in, who you also say is an all-merciful God, who cares for each one of us individually, are you saying that God created this worm that can live in no other way than in an innocent child's eyeball? Because that doesn't seem to me to coincide with a God who's full of mercy'.<ref>David Attenborough, 2003. "[http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/24/1048354544138.html Wild, wild life] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031211230726/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/24/1048354544138.html |date=11 December 2003 }}." ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 25 March. Attenborough has also told this story in numerous other interviews.</ref>}}

He has explained that he feels the evidence all over the planet clearly shows [[evolution]] to be the best way to explain the diversity of life and that "as far as [he's] concerned, if there is a supreme being then he chose organic evolution as a way of bringing into existence the natural world". In a [[BBC Four]] interview with [[Mark Lawson]], he was asked if he at any time had any religious faith. He replied simply, "no".<ref>BBC ''Today'' programme, 31 January 2009</ref> He said "It never really occurred to me to believe in God".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mandrake/4347954/Sir-David-Attenborough-questioned-on-faith-naturally.html |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph |last=Walker |first=Tim |title=Sir David Attenborough questioned on faith, naturally |date=26 January 2009 |access-date=6 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008095309/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mandrake/4347954/Sir-David-Attenborough-questioned-on-faith-naturally.html |archive-date=8 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2002, Attenborough joined an effort by leading [[Clergy|clerics]] and scientists to oppose the inclusion of [[creationism]] in the curriculum of UK state-funded independent schools which receive private sponsorship, such as the [[Emmanuel Schools Foundation]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/27/david-attenborough-science |title=Attenborough reveals creationist hate mail for not crediting God |last=Butt |first=Riazat |date=27 January 2009 |work=The Guardian |access-date=27 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905180331/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/27/david-attenborough-science |archive-date=5 September 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2009, he stated that the [[Book of Genesis]], by saying that the world was there for people to control, had taught generations that they can "dominate" the environment and that this has resulted in the devastation of vast areas of it. He further explained to the science journal ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'', "That's why Darwinism, and the fact of evolution, is of great importance, because it is that attitude which has led to the devastation of so much, and we are in the situation that we are in".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rutherford |first1=A. |doi=10.1038/457967a |title=Q&A: Building on paradise |journal=Nature |volume=457 |issue=7232 |pages=967 |year=2009 |pmid=19225509 |bibcode=2009Natur.457..967R |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Also in early 2009, the BBC broadcast an Attenborough one-hour special, ''[[Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life]]''. In reference to the programme, Attenborough stated that "People write to me that evolution is only a theory. Well, it is not a theory. Evolution is as solid a historical fact as you could conceive. Evidence from every quarter. What is a theory is whether natural selection is the mechanism and the only mechanism. That is a theory. But the historical reality that dinosaurs led to birds and mammals produced whales, that's not theory."<ref name=whitworth>{{Cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article5562484.ece |title=David Attenborough on Charles Darwin – Times Online |work=[[The Times]] |access-date=14 February 2009 |author=Whitworth, Damian |date=22 January 2009 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905203628/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> He strongly opposes creationism and its offshoot "[[intelligent design]]", saying that the results of a survey that found a quarter of science teachers in state schools believe that creationism should be taught alongside evolution in science lessons was "really terrible".<ref name=whitworth />

In March 2009, Attenborough appeared on ''[[Friday Night with Jonathan Ross]]''. Attenborough stated that he felt evolution did not rule out the existence of a God and accepted the title of agnostic saying, "My view is: I don't know one way or the other but I don't think that evolution is against a belief in God".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvoJSlcIYmM |title=David Attenborough on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' |via=YouTube |date=31 October 2009 |access-date=4 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902110558/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvoJSlcIYmM |archive-date=2 September 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Attenborough has joined the evolutionary biologist [[Richard Dawkins]] and other top scientists in signing a campaign statement co-ordinated by the [[British Humanist Association]] (BHA). The statement calls for "creationism to be banned from the school science curriculum and for evolution to be taught more widely in schools".<ref name="The Telegraph">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8769353/David-Attenborough-joins-campaign-against-creationism-in-schools.html |title=David Attenborough joins campaign against creationism in schools |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=19 September 2011 |access-date=6 October 2014 |last=Collins |first=Nick |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008095340/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8769353/David-Attenborough-joins-campaign-against-creationism-in-schools.html |archive-date=8 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===BBC and public service broadcasting===
Attenborough is a lifelong supporter of the BBC, [[public service broadcasting]] and the [[television licence]]. He has said that public service broadcasting "is one of the things that distinguishes this country and makes me want to live here",<ref name="telegraph1">{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1921592/Sir-David-Attenborough-enters-political-jungle.html |title=Sir David Attenborough enters political jungle |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |first=Andrew |last=Pierce |date=2 May 2008 |access-date=6 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008095347/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1921592/Sir-David-Attenborough-enters-political-jungle.html |archive-date=8 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> and believes that it is not reducible to individual programmes, but "can only effectively operate as a network [...] that measures its success not only by its audience size but by the range of its schedule".<ref name="bbc.co.uk">[http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/howwework/reports/pdf/attenborough_future_of_psb.pdf "The future of public service broadcasting"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503092810/http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/howwework/reports/pdf/attenborough_future_of_psb.pdf |date=3 May 2019 }}. BBC. Retrieved 15 September 2019</ref>

{{blockquote|... the BBC per minute in almost every category is as cheap as you can find anywhere in the world and produces the best quality. [...] The BBC has gone through swingeing staff cuts.<!-- Note to future editors: "swingeing" is not a typo. The definition is "severe or otherwise extreme." --> It has been cut to the bone, if you divert licence fee money elsewhere, you cut quality and services. [...] There is a lot of people who want to see the BBC weakened. They talk of this terrible tax of the licence fee. Yet it is the best bargain that is going. Four radio channels and god knows how many TV channels. It is piffling.<ref name="telegraph1"/>}}

Attenborough expressed the view that there had often been people wanting to remove the BBC, adding "there's always been trouble about the licence and if you dropped your guard you could bet our bottom dollar there'd be plenty of people who'd want to take it away. The licence fee is the basis on which the BBC is based and if you destroy it, broadcasting... becomes a wasteland."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/multi-platform/news/attenborough-backs-ross/1925560.article |title=Attenborough backs Ross |website=Broadcastnow.co.uk |access-date=26 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405100046/http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/multi-platform/news/attenborough-backs-ross/1925560.article |archive-date=5 April 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> He expressed regret at some of the changes made to the BBC in the 1990s by its director-general, [[John Birt]], who introduced an internal market at the corporation, slimmed and closed some departments and outsourced much of the corporation's output to private production companies.<ref name="new statesman 1998"/>

Although he said Birt's policies had poor results, Attenborough also acknowledged "the BBC had to change."<ref name="new statesman 1998">{{cite web |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/199812180019 |title=The New Statesman Interview – David Attenborough |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607080949/http://www.newstatesman.com/199812180019 |archive-date=7 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article820515.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1 |title=Interview: Marguerite Driscoll meets Sir David Attenborough: So much jollier than being DG |location=London |work=[[The Times]] |date=3 November 2002 |access-date=28 March 2010 |first=Fiona |last=Hamilton |archive-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905203604/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2008, he criticised the BBC's television schedules, positing that the two senior networks, [[BBC One]] and [[BBC Two]] – which Attenborough stated were "first set up as a partnership" – now "schedule simultaneously programmes of identical character, thereby contradicting the very reason that the BBC was given a second network."<ref name="bbc.co.uk"/>

===Politics===
In 1998, Attenborough described himself as "a standard, boring left-wing liberal" and expressed the view that the [[market economy]] was "misery".<ref name="new statesman 1998"/> In 2013, Attenborough joined the rock guitarists [[Brian May]] and [[Slash (musician)|Slash]] in opposing the government's policy on the [[Badger culling in the United Kingdom|cull of badgers in the UK]] by participating in a song dedicated to badgers.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jun/04/slash-david-attenborough-brian-may-badger-swagger |title=Slash and David Attenborough join Brian May in pro-badger supergroup |newspaper=The Guardian |date=4 June 2013 |access-date=16 June 2013 |last1=Michaels |first1=Sean |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827184207/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jun/04/slash-david-attenborough-brian-may-badger-swagger |archive-date=27 August 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> Attenborough was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''[[The Guardian]]'' expressing their hope that [[Scotland]] would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in the 2014 [[2014 Scottish independence referendum|referendum on that issue]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/07/celebrities-open-letter-scotland-independence-full-text |title=Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories &#124; Politics |newspaper=The Guardian |date=7 August 2014 |access-date=26 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817131736/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/07/celebrities-open-letter-scotland-independence-full-text |archive-date=17 August 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> Prior to the [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015 UK general election]], Attenborough was one of several celebrities who endorsed the parliamentary candidacy of the [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green Party]]'s [[Caroline Lucas]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/24/celebrities-sign-statement-support-caroline-lucas-not-green-party |title=Celebrities sign statement of support for Caroline Lucas – but not the Greens |work=The Guardian |location=London |first=Jessica |last=Elgot |date=24 April 2015 |access-date=22 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324092533/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/24/celebrities-sign-statement-support-caroline-lucas-not-green-party |archive-date=24 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In a 2020 interview, Attenborough criticised excess [[capitalism]] as a driver of ecological imbalance, stating "the excesses the capitalist system has brought us, have got to be curbed somehow", and that "greed does not actually lead to joy", although he added "That doesn't mean to say that capitalism is dead".<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 October 2020 |title=Attenborough: 'Curb excess capitalism' to save nature |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54268038 |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-date=8 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008143757/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54268038 |url-status=live}}</ref> He also lamented the lack of [[Politics of climate change|international cooperation on climate change]]: "There should be no dominant nation on this planet."<ref>{{cite news |last=Blum |first=Jeremy |date=10 October 2020 |title=David Attenborough Calls Out The 'Excesses' Of Capitalism In A World Facing Climate Change |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/david-attenborough-covid-19-excesses-capitalism_n_5f81e2f8c5b6e6d033a3302d |work=[[HuffPost]] |access-date=12 October 2020 |archive-date=11 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011234922/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/david-attenborough-covid-19-excesses-capitalism_n_5f81e2f8c5b6e6d033a3302d |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021, Attenborough told the leaders of the [[47th G7 summit]] that "tackling climate change was now as much a political challenge as it was a scientific or technological one" and urged for more action.<ref>{{cite news |title=Environmentalist Attenborough tells G7: We need the will to tackle climate change |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/environmentalist-attenborough-tells-g7-we-need-will-tackle-climate-change-2021-06-13/ |access-date=13 June 2021 |work=Reuters |date=13 June 2021 |archive-date=13 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613112925/https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/environmentalist-attenborough-tells-g7-we-need-will-tackle-climate-change-2021-06-13/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Attenborough also stated that "(we) are on the verge of destabilising the entire planet."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Dulcie |last2=Lee |first2=Joseph |title=G7 to agree tough measures on burning coal to tackle climate change |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-57456641 |access-date=13 June 2021 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=13 June 2021 |archive-date=12 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612222526/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-57456641 |url-status=live}}</ref> 

In 2023, Attenborough was described by the ''[[New Statesman]]'' as a figure "invaluable to green diplomacy" in the UK, placing him twenty-third in their list of Britain's most powerful left-wing figures, above many elected politicians.<ref>{{cite web |date=17 May 2023 |title=The New Statesman's left power list |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2023/05/the-new-statesmans-left-power-list |access-date=13 December 2023 |website=New Statesman |language=en-US |archive-date=15 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115165413/https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2023/05/the-new-statesmans-left-power-list |url-status=live }}</ref>