Martin Robinson
22 January 2020
Prince Charles demanded global green taxes as part of a radical push to tackle climate change in a seminal speech at Davos today.
The Prince of Wales met Greta Thunberg at the Word Economic Forum after flying in to Switzerland on a private jet – but did not hold talks with Donald Trump.
Charles even sounded like the 17-year-old Swedish activist as he asked VIPs: 'Do we want to go down in history as the people who didn't do anything to bring the world back from the brink? The only limit is our willingness to act and the time to act is now'.
He then begged delegates, including wealthy global business leaders: 'This is why I need your help, your ingenuity and your practical skills to ensure that the private sector leads the world out of the approaching catastrophe into which we have engineered ourselves.'
Speaking just 24 hours after President Trump used his speech to reject environmental 'prophets of doom', Charles called for new eco-taxes, greener fuels and hydrogen-powered planes by 2030.
In his first keynote speech to the conference in 30 years, hailed by environmentalists as a landmark moment and branded royal meddling in global affairs by critics, he said: 'Global warning, climate change and the devastating loss of biodiversity are the greatest threats humanity has ever faced, and one largely of its own creation'.
He added: 'Now it is time to take it to the next level. In order to secure our future and to prosper we need to evolve our economic model'.
Earlier today the Prince of Wales flew to Switzerland on a chartered plane costing an estimated £15,000 before jumping in an electric Jaguar - but he missed Donald Trump who carried out his final press conference and then left the summit just as the royal took to the stage.
The heir to throne later met Greta Thunberg but the US President dodged her for a second year, using his own speech yesterday to pointedly blast 'prophets of doom' on climate change and snubbed their 'predictions of the apocalypse' in favour of 'optimism'.
And today Mr Trump lashed out at Miss Thunberg again telling her not to focus on the United States, but other nations before saying demands made by activists like her are 'unrealistic to a point where you can't live your lives'.
Mr Trump met Charles
twice on visits to Britain in 2019 - the first for a state visit last June and then for NATO talks in December.
In their first meeting at Clarence House over the summer the royal spent 75 minutes longer than expected with the leader of the free world, trying to convince him of the dangers of global warning. Trump is said to have called the US 'clean' and pointed the finger at other countries.
The President then told Piers Morgan ITV's Good Morning Britain the following day he had a 'great' meeting with Charles but said the Queen's eldest son 'did most of the talking'.
Greta Thunberg watched Trump's Davis speech yesterday and afterwards introduced a talk on 'Averting a Climate Apocalypse', in which she scolded the world's elites for not doing enough to deal with the climate crisis.
Today Prince Charles smiled as he shook her hand but while they will have discussed climate change, details of what they said has not yet been revealed.
Around an hour earlier Charles told leaders gathered at the Forum: 'Ladies and gentleman, you all have a seat at the table as this must be the year that we put ourselves on the right track.'
He added: 'Do we want to go down in history as the people who did nothing to bring the world back from the brink, in trying to restore the balance, when we could have done? I don't want to.
'Just think for a moment, what good is all the extra wealth in the world gained from business as usual if you can do nothing with it except watch it burn in catastrophic conditions.
'This is why I need your help, your ingenuity and your practical skills to ensure that the private sector leads the world out of the approaching catastrophe into which we have engineered ourselves.'
In his speech, the Prince of Wales suggested 10 practical steps to avert climate crisis, such as:
Invest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) to help make sure new technologies are able to make it to market.
Re-thinking how we can put nature at the heart of how the world economy operates.
Invest in sectors such as agriculture and forestry.
Away from the turmoil caused by Harry and Meghan's emigration to Canada, Charles travelled from St Gallen to Davos in a fully electric Jaguar I-Pace, rather than using a helicopter - but did fly to Switzerland in a private jet, which will produces six tonnes of carbon per passenger compared to 0.19 tonnes on a commercial flight.
The London to Davos leg of the journey would cost around £15,000 [$20,000] by private plane alone - and will cost the same again as he heads to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories later.
Charles' usual ministerial jet Voyager is believed to be undergoing scheduled maintenance
Today he warned in his Davos speech that the world is in the midst of a crisis that 'is now I hope well understood'.
He added: 'Global warning, climate change and the devastating loss of biodiversity are the greatest threats humanity has ever faced.'
He described his dedication to encouraging corporate, social and environmental responsibility as an 'uphill struggle'.
But he added: 'Now it is time to take it to the next level. In order to secure our future and to prosper we need to evolve our economic model.'
The prince used his speech to launch a new Sustainable Markets Initiative to help financial markets become more sustainable.
He outlined 10 practical actions to drive the approach, including identifying game-changers and barriers to transition and investing in Stem (science, technology, engineering, and maths) and innovation, adding this included 'AI, where that does not seek to challenge or replace unique human characteristics and intuition'.
Charles, on a positive note, said the world was 'further ahead than we might think' in achieving the goal of a profitable but sustainable future, citing developments such as plans for green engines for ships and opportunities to develop commercially viable, hydrogen-powered and electric aircraft within the decade.
The prince, who is facing his youngest son the Duke of Sussex quitting royal life, took the opportunity to praise his eldest, the Duke of Cambridge, for his environmental work.
'Critically, we must foster innovation - and here, if you will allow me, I would like to acknowledge the new Earthshot initiative of my son, the Duke of Cambridge, which seems to me to extol the sort of horizon-lifting approach we need in order to give us hope,' he said.
In his speech in the Swiss resort Charles said that being socially and environmentally responsible should be the cheapest option available to all.
'We cannot expect consumers to make sustainable choices if these choices are not clearly laid before them,' he said.
'As consumers increasingly demand sustainable products, they deserve to be told more about product lifecycles, supply chains and production methods.
'For a transition to take place, being socially and environmentally conscious cannot only be for those who can afford it.
'If all the true costs are taken into account, being socially and environmentally responsible should be the least expensive option because it leaves the smallest footprint behind.'
Charles has vowed to use his platform to get the message out.
'With 2020 being seen as the 'super year', kick-starting a decade of action for people and planet, I intend to do my utmost to ensure that the message of urgency, systemic change, collaboration and integration is heard,' he said.
The heir to the throne hopes his Sustainable Markets Council, which is supported by the World Economic Forum, will bring together leading individuals from the public and private sectors, charitable organisations and investors to identify ways to rapidly decarbonise the global economy and make the transition to sustainable markets.
.........................................
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...tonnes-carbon-launch-sustainable-project.html
22 January 2020
Prince Charles demanded global green taxes as part of a radical push to tackle climate change in a seminal speech at Davos today.
The Prince of Wales met Greta Thunberg at the Word Economic Forum after flying in to Switzerland on a private jet – but did not hold talks with Donald Trump.
Charles even sounded like the 17-year-old Swedish activist as he asked VIPs: 'Do we want to go down in history as the people who didn't do anything to bring the world back from the brink? The only limit is our willingness to act and the time to act is now'.
He then begged delegates, including wealthy global business leaders: 'This is why I need your help, your ingenuity and your practical skills to ensure that the private sector leads the world out of the approaching catastrophe into which we have engineered ourselves.'
Speaking just 24 hours after President Trump used his speech to reject environmental 'prophets of doom', Charles called for new eco-taxes, greener fuels and hydrogen-powered planes by 2030.
In his first keynote speech to the conference in 30 years, hailed by environmentalists as a landmark moment and branded royal meddling in global affairs by critics, he said: 'Global warning, climate change and the devastating loss of biodiversity are the greatest threats humanity has ever faced, and one largely of its own creation'.
He added: 'Now it is time to take it to the next level. In order to secure our future and to prosper we need to evolve our economic model'.
Earlier today the Prince of Wales flew to Switzerland on a chartered plane costing an estimated £15,000 before jumping in an electric Jaguar - but he missed Donald Trump who carried out his final press conference and then left the summit just as the royal took to the stage.
The heir to throne later met Greta Thunberg but the US President dodged her for a second year, using his own speech yesterday to pointedly blast 'prophets of doom' on climate change and snubbed their 'predictions of the apocalypse' in favour of 'optimism'.
And today Mr Trump lashed out at Miss Thunberg again telling her not to focus on the United States, but other nations before saying demands made by activists like her are 'unrealistic to a point where you can't live your lives'.
Mr Trump met Charles
twice on visits to Britain in 2019 - the first for a state visit last June and then for NATO talks in December.
In their first meeting at Clarence House over the summer the royal spent 75 minutes longer than expected with the leader of the free world, trying to convince him of the dangers of global warning. Trump is said to have called the US 'clean' and pointed the finger at other countries.
The President then told Piers Morgan ITV's Good Morning Britain the following day he had a 'great' meeting with Charles but said the Queen's eldest son 'did most of the talking'.
Greta Thunberg watched Trump's Davis speech yesterday and afterwards introduced a talk on 'Averting a Climate Apocalypse', in which she scolded the world's elites for not doing enough to deal with the climate crisis.
Today Prince Charles smiled as he shook her hand but while they will have discussed climate change, details of what they said has not yet been revealed.
Around an hour earlier Charles told leaders gathered at the Forum: 'Ladies and gentleman, you all have a seat at the table as this must be the year that we put ourselves on the right track.'
He added: 'Do we want to go down in history as the people who did nothing to bring the world back from the brink, in trying to restore the balance, when we could have done? I don't want to.
'Just think for a moment, what good is all the extra wealth in the world gained from business as usual if you can do nothing with it except watch it burn in catastrophic conditions.
'This is why I need your help, your ingenuity and your practical skills to ensure that the private sector leads the world out of the approaching catastrophe into which we have engineered ourselves.'
In his speech, the Prince of Wales suggested 10 practical steps to avert climate crisis, such as:
Invest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) to help make sure new technologies are able to make it to market.
Re-thinking how we can put nature at the heart of how the world economy operates.
Invest in sectors such as agriculture and forestry.
Away from the turmoil caused by Harry and Meghan's emigration to Canada, Charles travelled from St Gallen to Davos in a fully electric Jaguar I-Pace, rather than using a helicopter - but did fly to Switzerland in a private jet, which will produces six tonnes of carbon per passenger compared to 0.19 tonnes on a commercial flight.
The London to Davos leg of the journey would cost around £15,000 [$20,000] by private plane alone - and will cost the same again as he heads to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories later.
Charles' usual ministerial jet Voyager is believed to be undergoing scheduled maintenance
Today he warned in his Davos speech that the world is in the midst of a crisis that 'is now I hope well understood'.
He added: 'Global warning, climate change and the devastating loss of biodiversity are the greatest threats humanity has ever faced.'
He described his dedication to encouraging corporate, social and environmental responsibility as an 'uphill struggle'.
But he added: 'Now it is time to take it to the next level. In order to secure our future and to prosper we need to evolve our economic model.'
The prince used his speech to launch a new Sustainable Markets Initiative to help financial markets become more sustainable.
He outlined 10 practical actions to drive the approach, including identifying game-changers and barriers to transition and investing in Stem (science, technology, engineering, and maths) and innovation, adding this included 'AI, where that does not seek to challenge or replace unique human characteristics and intuition'.
Charles, on a positive note, said the world was 'further ahead than we might think' in achieving the goal of a profitable but sustainable future, citing developments such as plans for green engines for ships and opportunities to develop commercially viable, hydrogen-powered and electric aircraft within the decade.
The prince, who is facing his youngest son the Duke of Sussex quitting royal life, took the opportunity to praise his eldest, the Duke of Cambridge, for his environmental work.
'Critically, we must foster innovation - and here, if you will allow me, I would like to acknowledge the new Earthshot initiative of my son, the Duke of Cambridge, which seems to me to extol the sort of horizon-lifting approach we need in order to give us hope,' he said.
In his speech in the Swiss resort Charles said that being socially and environmentally responsible should be the cheapest option available to all.
'We cannot expect consumers to make sustainable choices if these choices are not clearly laid before them,' he said.
'As consumers increasingly demand sustainable products, they deserve to be told more about product lifecycles, supply chains and production methods.
'For a transition to take place, being socially and environmentally conscious cannot only be for those who can afford it.
'If all the true costs are taken into account, being socially and environmentally responsible should be the least expensive option because it leaves the smallest footprint behind.'
Charles has vowed to use his platform to get the message out.
'With 2020 being seen as the 'super year', kick-starting a decade of action for people and planet, I intend to do my utmost to ensure that the message of urgency, systemic change, collaboration and integration is heard,' he said.
The heir to the throne hopes his Sustainable Markets Council, which is supported by the World Economic Forum, will bring together leading individuals from the public and private sectors, charitable organisations and investors to identify ways to rapidly decarbonise the global economy and make the transition to sustainable markets.
.........................................
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...tonnes-carbon-launch-sustainable-project.html
