Prince urges international action on climate change

In his first speech to the European Parliament for 16 years, Prince Charles has called for a global partnership to stop the ticking of the 'doomsday clock of climate change'.


The prince said an alliance between public, private and non-governmental organisations needed to come together to work on the crisis.

“For me, the crux of the problem is – and I only pray I will be proved wrong – that the doomsday clock of climate change is ticking ever faster towards midnight,” he said.

“We are simply not reacting quickly enough. We cannot be anything less than courageous and revolutionary in our approach to tackling climate change.

“If we are not, the result will be catastrophe for all of us, but with the poorest in our world hit hardest of all.”

The Prince focused on the plight of the rainforests during his speech, describing them as global utilities that provide essential public services to humanity on a vast scale.

“Unbelievable as it might seem, we are destroying our planet’s air-conditioning system,” he said.

“But the loss of biodiversity is also terrifying.

“It has been compared to burning down a library of precious knowledge without first reading the books.”

The Prince added that the private sector needed to be involved in the solution for saving the rainforests.

To this end, The Prince has set up The Prince’s Rainforests Project, which aims to work with the private sector, governments and environmental experts to find solutions to ensure the survival of the world’s rainforests, which are essential to combating climate change.

The prince said the EU had the opportunity to take a global lead on the issues.

“Determined and principled leadership has never been more needed,” he said.

“Surely this is just the moment in history for which the European Union was created. Climate change presents such a threat that, uniquely in history, it will surely require the effort of every nation and every person to find and implement a solution before it is too late.

Sam Bond

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