Bear Grylls admits he was a ‘bit of a climate sceptic’ but has ‘changed 100%’

Bear Grylls has made a surprising admission, opening up about previously being sceptical about climate change while emphasising that he has ‘changed 100%’

Having spent years creating TV programmes exploring nature and the wilderness, one might think that Bear, 47, might have always felt strongly about warning of the dangers of climate change.

However, while speaking on Good Morning Britain, the adventurer said that several years ago, he questioned ‘how much effect’ human beings could really have on the Earth.

On Tuesday’s edition of Good Morning Britain, money expert Martin Lewis, who was co-hosting alongside Susanna Reid, referenced the fact that Bear made a speech at COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, before asking: ‘Were you effectively a climate sceptic at some stage beforehand? Has this been a turnaround for you, that you didn’t believe in climate change at one point?’

Bear responded: ‘I was a little bit, maybe 15 years ago. I thought the world’s pretty resilient, you know, how much effect can we really have?’

However, he has now ‘changed 100%’, he said, adding that over the past 15 years, he has witnessed the ‘harsh reality of climate change’ from ‘the extremes of the world’.

Bear previously questioned how much impact humans could have on the planet (Picture: ITV)

The TV personality said that he took part in various shows – such as Running Wild with Bear Grylls with former US president Barack Obama – ‘to try and say, look, our world is incredible but fragile, super fragile, and we’ve all got to do whatever we can to protect it’.

He emphasised the importance of COP26, saying that it’s a ‘key time’ and referring to the event as ‘D-Day for us’.

Barack Obama joined Bear on his TV show in 2015 (Credits: PA)

‘I think David Attenborough’s speech was powerful and beautiful as well and it’s, we’ve got to, we’ve got to do it now,’ he stated.

A few days ago, Idris Elba made an appearance at COP26, where he urged policymakers to include African voices in discussions about climate change.

Joining a panel on sustainable food production with his wife Sabrina Dhowre, he was asked why it is important that people of colour are heard as the world strives to decarbonise food production.

More: Good Morning Britain

‘I think Sabrina and I stand here as human beings first, but absolutely yes it is important for us as proud Africans to be a part of this debate,’ he responded, adding: ‘Yes it is important we have everyone of colour speaking up in this debate because it is Africa that is right in the centre.’

The couple are both goodwill ambassadors for the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development.

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.

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