‘Technology can either save or destroy nature’

Technology is a double-edged sword, capable of saving nature from human destruction or causing extinction on a mass scale. So says the leader of one of the world's leading wildlife organisations.

Speaking to swissinfo.ch at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, WWF International Director General Marco Lambertini warned that people should not think that technology can replace nature. At best, so-called cleantech could be a tool to fix the environmental damage caused by other industries.

Lambertini called on governments to stop subsidising fossil fuels and to instead adopt renewable energies. The world has 16 years to find a way to dramatically slash the production of greenhouse gases before a tipping point is reached, he warned.

Humans are used to taking nature for granted, having evolved within it for thousands of years. But continuing that mindset will send us down a dangerous path, Lambertini argues.

“We should not just be sad about the extinction of nature, we should be worried, because the effect on us will be dramatic,” he said.