Prince William's interview with David Attenborough raises stark warning

Beloved British naturalist Sir David Attenborough has issued another stark warning to the world, saying "the Garden of Eden is no more".

Attenborough, 92, said the world faced certain catastrophe if climate change is not dealt with immediately.

"The mechanisms that we have for destruction are so wholesale and so frightening," he warned, imploring leaders to take greater action to protect Earth's precious ecosystems.

His comments came while he was being interviewed by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, on stage in front of attendees at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and British naturalist, documentary maker and broadcaster David Attenborough. Photo / AP

"We are seeing that almost everything we do has its echoes and has its implications across the natural world.

"We are now so numerous, so powerful, so all-pervasive ... that we can actually exterminate whole ecosystems without even noticing it," Attenborough said.

Earlier, during the forum's Crystal Awards ceremony where he was honoured for his environmental stewardship, Attenborough warned that Earth's "Garden of Eden is no more."

Despite his ominous warnings, the TV broadcaster struck an optimistic tone during his time on stage with Prince William. He hailed the 2015 Paris climate agreement as a positive moment when world leaders had recognised the dangers of rising temperatures.

However he noted this had not been universal. "There have been people who have withdrawn from that," he said, referring to the likes of US president Donald Trump.

Prince William and Sir David Attenborough watch the screening of Attenborough's new documentary Our Planet during a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Photo / AP

It's not the first time the famous naturalist has taken a dig at Trump who recently rejected his administrations own findings on climate change's role in causing extreme weather events by simply saying: "I don't believe it."

Speaking on the sidelines of UN climate talks in Poland last month, Attenborough said the US president was "out on a limb" on his attitude to climate change.

During the talks in Poland, he delivered a similar message of urgency to world leaders, saying civilisation could ultimately collapse.

"Right now, we are facing a man-made disaster of global scale. Our greatest threat in thousands of years," he said.

"The continuation of our civilisations and the natural world upon which we depend, is in your hands."

Sir David Attenborough delivers a speech after receiving a Crystal Award during a ceremony ahead of the World Economic Forum 2019 annual meeting. Photo / AP

Known for countless nature films, Mr Attenborough has gained prominence recently with his Blue Planet II series, which highlighted the devastating effect of pollution on the oceans.

Mr Attenborough's advice for the leaders gathered at Davos this week was to care for the natural world and not to waste its resources, from energy to food.

"We can wreck it with ease. We can wreck it without even noticing we're doing it. And if we wreck the natural world, in the end, we wreck ourselves," he said.

"We can reduce the extremes of weather that's overtaking the planet already.

"And that is essential for the future wellbeing of the planet ... We have the power, we have the knowledge to actually live in harmony with nature."

The 92-year-olds's new documentary series Our Planet is set to be released on Netflix globally on April 5.