FEBRUARY 3, 2021
Britain’s Prince Charles
Prince Charles knows change must happen now to protect future generations, including his four grandchildren.
Queen Elizabeth’s eldest son and heir, who has been a strong advocate for conservation for decades, backed a U.K. government review by economist Partha Dasgupta that called for understanding how economies are negatively affecting the environment.
“We have a duty of care for this planet that is absolute,” Prince Charles, 72, said in an online discussion through the Royal Society. “We know day by day, we are rapidly destroying the fabric of the natural world for ourselves, for our children and grandchildren, and testing this planet to disruption.”
He continued, “It is sheer madness to continue on this path. Sir Partha Dasgupta’s seminal review is a call to action that we must heed, for ladies and gentlemen, it falls on our watch and we must not fail.”
Prince Charles has four grandchildren: Prince William and Kate Middleton’s three children — Prince George, 7, Princess Charlotte, 5, and Prince Louis, 2 — and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son Archie, 1.
Dasgupta’s review asserts that economic growth has come at the expense of the rapidly declining environment — and if this path continues, humans would need the resources of 1.6 planets to maintain the current way of life.
Prince Charles said he hoped the review would spur world leaders to adopt a target to protect at least 30% of earth’s land and oceans by 2030.
Charles, who gave his speech regarding the topic of environmentalist back in 1968, was echoing similar remarks he made in June at a round table event hosted by HRH’s Sustainable Markets Initiative and The World Economic Forum about the balance between nature and humanity.
“Everything I have tried to do, and urge, over the past 50 years has been done with our children and grandchildren in mind,” he said. “So, I can only encourage us all to think big and act now.”
Courtesy/Source: People
