Environmental activist David Suzuki speaks during a rally in Vancouver on Oct. 19, 2019.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Environmentalist David Suzuki has apologized for comments he made about pipelines being blown up if government leaders don’t urgently address climate change.
In a statement on Thursday, Mr. Suzuki said his comments to CHEK News on Saturday were a result of his frustration at government inaction as climate change gets worse.
Mr. Suzuki was asked in a media interview what he thinks may happen if government leaders don’t urgently address climate change after a protest was held in Victoria on Saturday.
He said the suggestion about violence was wrong.
Mr. Suzuki said a way must be found to stop the environmental damage that is being done to the planet and “we must do so in a non-violent manner.”
The apology was issued on the David Suzuki Foundation website.
“The remarks I made were poorly chosen and I should not have said them,” it said. “Any suggestion that violence is inevitable is wrong and will not lead us to a desperately needed solution to the climate crisis. My words were spoken out of extreme frustration and I apologize.”
On Saturday, the statement said, he told the TV station in response to the question: “We’re in deep, deep doo-doo. And the leading experts have been telling us for over 40 years. This is what we’ve come to. The next stage after this, there are going to be pipelines blown up if our leaders don’t pay attention to what’s going on.”
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