15th Oct, 2021
Craig Meighan
THE royal family have been branded “climate change hypocrites” after the Queen suggested she is “irritated” by a lack of action on the issue.
The monarch’s remarks emerged in clips of a conversation filmed on a phone during a trip to Cardiff for the opening of the Welsh Senedd.
Two video clips show the Queen chatting with the Duchess of Cornwall and Elin Jones, the parliament’s presiding officer.
At one point she appears to be talking about the COP26 climate conference, and can be heard saying she does not know who is coming to the event which will begin in Glasgow at the end of this month.
Prince William had earlier warned the COP26 summit against “clever speak, clever words but not enough action”.
He said: “I think for COP to communicate very clearly and very honestly what the problems are and what the solutions are going to be, is critical.
“We can’t have more clever speak, clever words but not enough action.”
But now campaigners have called out members of the royal family as “climate change hypocrites”.
Anti-monarchy group Republic said the royals do not deserve any praise for supporting the environment.
Speaking for the group, Graham Smith said: "Senior royals routinely make use of helicopters instead of cars and fly longer distances by private jet.
“And they all maintain multiple large houses that will have an enormous carbon footprint.
The exemption means the monarch doesn't need to follow the rules set out in the Heat Networks Bill, which requires people to facilitate the construction of pipelines for heating using renewable energy, rather than fossil fuels.
The monarchy has also faced increasing pressure over the last few months as campaigners urge them to rewild their land.
BBC presenter and naturalist Chris Packham is leading the charge, calling on the royals to “walk the walk” over climate change.
A letter organised by the rewilding campaign previously asked the royal family to rewild the “ecological disaster zones” under their ownership.
It was signed by more than 100 prominent individuals including scientists, activists, and TV personalities.
"In July this year, it was reported that the Queen has lobbied the Scottish Government for an exemption from environmental protection laws."
"The royals need to be challenged on their 'do as we say' attitude. They cannot seriously lecture the rest of us on the need to change how we live when they expect to travel by helicopter, private jet and royal train."
"The hypocrisy is staggering, and allowing people like Charles and William to portray themselves as environmentalists will only harm the cause of tackling climate change.
"Before the princes utter one more word about other people changing their way of life to reduce carbon emissions, they should ditch the helicopters and jets and try living like the rest of us."
In July, The Guardian reported that the Queen’s lawyers had lobbied the Scottish Government to exempt her private land from legislation aimed at cutting carbon emissions.
www.thenational.scot
Craig Meighan
THE royal family have been branded “climate change hypocrites” after the Queen suggested she is “irritated” by a lack of action on the issue.
The monarch’s remarks emerged in clips of a conversation filmed on a phone during a trip to Cardiff for the opening of the Welsh Senedd.
Two video clips show the Queen chatting with the Duchess of Cornwall and Elin Jones, the parliament’s presiding officer.
At one point she appears to be talking about the COP26 climate conference, and can be heard saying she does not know who is coming to the event which will begin in Glasgow at the end of this month.
Prince William had earlier warned the COP26 summit against “clever speak, clever words but not enough action”.
He said: “I think for COP to communicate very clearly and very honestly what the problems are and what the solutions are going to be, is critical.
“We can’t have more clever speak, clever words but not enough action.”
But now campaigners have called out members of the royal family as “climate change hypocrites”.
Anti-monarchy group Republic said the royals do not deserve any praise for supporting the environment.
Speaking for the group, Graham Smith said: "Senior royals routinely make use of helicopters instead of cars and fly longer distances by private jet.
“And they all maintain multiple large houses that will have an enormous carbon footprint.
The exemption means the monarch doesn't need to follow the rules set out in the Heat Networks Bill, which requires people to facilitate the construction of pipelines for heating using renewable energy, rather than fossil fuels.
The monarchy has also faced increasing pressure over the last few months as campaigners urge them to rewild their land.
BBC presenter and naturalist Chris Packham is leading the charge, calling on the royals to “walk the walk” over climate change.
A letter organised by the rewilding campaign previously asked the royal family to rewild the “ecological disaster zones” under their ownership.
It was signed by more than 100 prominent individuals including scientists, activists, and TV personalities.
"In July this year, it was reported that the Queen has lobbied the Scottish Government for an exemption from environmental protection laws."
"The royals need to be challenged on their 'do as we say' attitude. They cannot seriously lecture the rest of us on the need to change how we live when they expect to travel by helicopter, private jet and royal train."
"The hypocrisy is staggering, and allowing people like Charles and William to portray themselves as environmentalists will only harm the cause of tackling climate change.
"Before the princes utter one more word about other people changing their way of life to reduce carbon emissions, they should ditch the helicopters and jets and try living like the rest of us."
In July, The Guardian reported that the Queen’s lawyers had lobbied the Scottish Government to exempt her private land from legislation aimed at cutting carbon emissions.
Royals branded 'climate hypocrites' after Queen's COP26 intervention
THE royal family have been branded “
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