Major names in world science and other fields have signed up to endorse the Global Apollo Programme (GAP), which aims to make competitive with fossil fuels within 10 years.
Conservationist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough is perhaps the most high profile new signatory to the programme proposed earlier this year by scientists, economists and energy experts including Sir David King, former chief scientific advisor to Britain’s government, and currently its climate change envoy. Attenborough recorded a special message to commemorate and promote the new sign-ups. The popular nature filmmaker famously discussed climate change with US president Barack Obama in the Whitehouse at a televised visit in June.
Attenborough and 26 others from politics, business, science and academia published a letter this morning calling on nations to adopt GAP. Other signees include UK broadcaster and scientist Prof Brian Cox, Unilever CEO Paul Polman, former UK energy secretary Ed Davey, Nilesh Y. Jadhav, programme director at the energy research institute of Nanyang Technology University in Singapore, Peter Bakker, president of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and Dr Fatima Denton, African Climate Policy Centre.
"A sensible approach to tackling climate change will not only pay for itself but provide economic benefits to the nations of the world," according to the letter.