When Prince Charles delivers the keynote address at the COP26 UN CLIMATE SUMMIT in Glasgow on Monday, world leaders and national delegates may be expecting sharper words than his opening speech six years earlier at COP21 in Paris. An environmentalist, he had suggested to his audience that he take into account the long-term wishes of generations, asking participants to “sustainable energy, agriculture and fisheries, rather than fossil fuels, deforestation and overexploitation of the seas” and decrease carbon dioxide emissions.
That year, the summit resulted in the final formulas for what would become the 2015 Paris Agreement. The legally binding foreign treaty was followed by 196 nations that pledged to tightly restrict the rise in global temperature. less than 2 degrees centigrade. and preferably no more than 1. 5 degrees Celsius, above pre-industrial degrees until the end of this century, to prevent the worst from having an effect on climate change. According to the United Nations, global greenhouse fuel emissions will have to fall 7. 6% each year over the next decade to be on track to meet this target, a relief that, in addition to a short period consistent with the year 2020. . Prince Charles, 72, told the BBC his thoughts that COP26 is “just talking” rather than “acting on the ground. ” For his part, in the six years since the 2015 summit, the obvious heir to the British throne has made his case to business leaders and monetary establishments to unlock mandatory investments for a green transition in order to save global temperatures. constants of more than 1. 5. Celsius degrees. which, according to the International Energy Agency, amounts to four trillion dollars in line with the year.
“No government has this kind of money, which is why I’ve spent so much time over the 19 months looking to form a global alliance with the personal sector, because I have the idea that it holds the fundamental key to the answers we seek. Prince Charles told the G20 leaders’ assembly in Rome on Sunday, referring to his paintings as a component of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, a network painting of business leaders he presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2020.
Ahead of the G20 and COP26, the Sustainable Markets Initiative announced a series of new measures for business building and commitment to this goal, which come with the launch of an online allocation progression tool that allows countries, cities and local allocation promoters to bring to light an early assessment of the attractiveness of allocation for personal sector investment.
As a high-ranking member of the British royal family, Charles enjoys great influence in advocating for action on climate change, however, as he redoubles his long-standing efforts, he monitors his and his family’s contribution to greenhouse fuel emissions and his deal with large corporations. polluters can intensify.
Because of their legal responsibility to be politically neutral, members of the royal circle of relatives do not comment on governmental or political matters, however, Charles and, increasingly, his eldest son, Prince William, spare no words when it comes to advocating for meaningful actions. action to fight the climate. Money.
Prince William recently rebuked billionaires seeking tourism in the area, saying, “We want some of the world’s greatest brains and minds to decide to look to fix this planet, not to look for the next position to pass and live. “Even Queen Elizabeth II, who cancelled her participation in the weather summit following medical advice, was heard this month expressing frustration with world leaders who had not yet shown their attendance at the event: “It’s frustrating when they talk, but they don’t. “doing,” he said.
Land, biodiversity and environment have been key elements of the royal family’s sustainability efforts, which focus on conservation. The late Prince Philip, one of the founders of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in 1961, nearly 50 years later In October 2020, his grandson, Prince William, partnered with naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough to launch the Earthshot Prize, a global award that rewards projects that help tackle some of the most demanding situations facing the planet. The family’s sustainability page and sponsors more than 60 organizations focused on climate change, biodiversity and the environment.
At the centre of the monarchy’s assets as an establishment are the houses controlled through the Crown Estate, whose approximately 615,000 acres make it the largest landowner in the UK. 45,500 acres of the Duchy of Lancaster and 130,000 acres of the Duchy of Cornwall, which provide a source of income for Prince Charles and his family. He followed organic farming in the Duchy of Cornwall in 1985 and established organic duchies to sell organic food products. five years later. Despite the fact that news resurfaced this month that its cars run on biofuels derived from “cheese and wine”, it was first announced in 2008.
The Duchy of Cornwall has also claimed to have “net zero carbon” since 2006 due to offsetting its internal emissions through a tree planting programme. But according to British ecologist and TV presenter Chris Packham, the Duchy of Cornwall and other royal houses may simply pass more to biodiversity, and have filed a petition calling for them to “waste again” their land, a procedure that involves returning soil and waterways to a state of pre-human natural impact. Earlier this month, Packham led one hundred academics to deliver the petition, signed through more than 100,000 people, at Buckingham Palace in London.
However, the main factor attracting public complaint from the royal circle of relatives’ environmental credentials is not the state of their land, but the use of carbon-intensive transportation. Sovereign Grant and Sovereign Grant Reserve report to the UK Parliament. The most recent factor highlights a relief in emissions compared to 2020 and 2019, however, although decreasing, “business travel” remains one of the maximum vital resources of carbon emissions for the royal family. According to research conducted through energy comparison site Eco Exconsistent withts, the carbon footprint of Prince Charles and his wife Camilla amounted to more than 432 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) in 2019, largely due to the use of consistent sonal jets. By comparison, the average Briton emits around 10 tonnes of CO2 a year.
Prince Charles’ projects have also been criticized for their ties to the oil and fuel giants. For example, BP’s inclusion in the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Terra Carta ( Earth Charter) – a document intended to provide corporations with a roadmap towards 2030 “to move towards an ambitious and sustainable future” – surprised at the time.
Earlier this month, the Sustainable Markets Initiative launched a plan for the banking sector to transition its customers to zero and “reduce emissions from the genuine economy,” which was signed through 11 leading monetary institutions, several of which have continued to finance fossils. Fuel projects since the signing of the 2015 Paris Agreement that sets emissions relief targets and have been criticized for their role in plastic polluters.
Last week, the Times reported that the Prince’s Foundation, a real charity committed to advocating for “a sustainable technique for the way we live our lives and build our communities,” “reviewing sustainability criteria as a component of its due diligence processes” after accepting donations from Saudi Arabia. Arabia. Oil Company, the state-owned energy giant, also known as Saudi Aramco, which, as Bloomberg discovered in January, has underestimated its carbon emissions by as much as 50 percent.
Perhaps most unexpected given the royal family’s public commitments to climate action, was a report published in The Guardian in July that indicated the Queen’s personal land in Scotland was exempt from a bill to build a heating network as an option for fossil fuel boilers. The mysterious mechanism called the Queen’s Consent, which asks ministers to submit a report of the law that can only be done by the monarch’s public government or personal interests, allowed the Queen’s lawyer to talk to Scottish ministers about the bill, which was then amended to come with an exception. for the land of the monarch.
The Queen’s withdrawal from COP26 leaves Charles and William tasked with protecting the royal family’s credentials. The princes, united through William’s wife Kate Middleton, will offer a reception for key members of their sustainable markets initiative and the winners and finalists of the Earthshot award.
I am an associate editor in London, from where I oversee sustainability policy and run the Daily Dozen newsletter.
Me as a Newsweek journalist
I am an associate editor in London, from where I oversee sustainability policy and run the Daily Dozen newsletter.
I worked as a reporter for Newsweek and PinkNews, and wrote for the Economist Intelligence Unit and the New Statesman.