LONDON • He is a natural on television and more than 80,000 people applied for just 300 tickets for an early screening of David Attenborough's new documentary.

Called Seven Worlds, One Planet, it comes at a time when young people, such as Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, are clamouring for greater resolve among world leaders to tackle climate change.

Speaking to the BBC, Attenborough, 93, said he is happy his work has inspired others. "It's very odd," he said of his experience on stage at the recent Glastonbury Festival in Britain, where he asked music fans to look after all creatures great and small. "But the fact remains, I've been at it for 60 years."

His new series examines the human impact on the climate, animals and the environment in all seven continents. "All these seven worlds are actually one and we are dependent on it for every mouthful of food we eat and every breath of air we take.

"We have it in our hands and we've made a tragic, desperate mess of it so far," added the British naturalist, who said he was perceived as a "crank" when he expressed such thoughts in his early broadcasting days.

He is not asking for people to completely alter their lifestyles. "Live the way you want to live, but just don't waste. Look after the natural world and the animals in it and the plants in it too, this is their planet as well as ours."