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Attenborough: Paris talks will amount to nothing

NATURALIST icon Sir David Attenborough embarrassed politicians yesterday as he feared the Paris climate talks would not come out with a solution to the “hideous problem.”

The acclaimed broadcaster warned the 147 state leaders meeting this week that the scale of the problem would make a general agreement difficult.

His words were echoed by the leaders of the Labour and Green parties, who will be speaking in the French capital during the summit.

“Never in the history of humanity have all the people of the world got together to deal with one particular problem and agree on what the solution should be,” said Mr Attenborough.

“But it seems to me that the danger is becoming more and more clear to the people attending this conference and that there is, at last, the chance that something might come out of it.”

Mr Attenborough, who supports plans to make renewable energy cheaper than fossil fuels in 10 years’ time, also suggested that the British government has failed on its green policies.

Green Party leader Natalie Bennett said the UN conference COP21 was a “huge opportunity” to tackle climate change internationally.

Like Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who will be debating with environmentalist author Naomi Klein on December 7, Ms Bennett will be hosting talks in Paris in the coming week.

But before she does, the Green Party leader will be taking part in a series of unauthorised actions at London’s Tate Modern protesting against the museum’s BP sponsorship.

The Deadline Festival will bring politicians, campaigners, artists and academics together to highlight the importance of the talks taking place across the Channel.

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