Prince Charles has urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison and other world leaders to attend the UN's climate change conference, calling it a "last chance saloon" to save the planet.
Key points:
- Prince Charles appeared surprised to learn Prime Minister Scott Morrison may not attend the COP26 UN climate change conference
- More than 100 world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, the Queen and the Pope will attend the summit
- Prince Charles also said he shared the concerns of younger generations that not enough is being done to combat cliamte issues
World leaders including Joe Biden, Boris Johnson, the Queen and the Pope will be at the event, but Mr Morrison has not yet made a decision on whether he will attend.
The Prince of Wales was giving an interview to the BBC when he was pressed about Australia's action on climate change ahead of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow at the end of this month.
Prince Charles seemed genuinely surprised when told by the BBC's climate editor Justin Rowlatt that Mr Morrison was still on the fence about coming.
"Is that what he says?" Charles asked.
"He did say that, yeah, he said he's spent enough time in quarantine," Rowlatt said, before asking the prince what he would say to world leaders about why they should be coming to Glasgow.
"Because if we don't really take the decisions which are vital now it's going to be almost impossible to catch up.
The prince said it would be a "disaster" if more action is not taken immediately.
"It'll be catastrophic," he said.
"It is already beginning to be catastrophic because nothing in nature can survive the stress that is created by these extremes of weather."
Rowlatt also asked Prince Charles what he would say to the Australian government, saying it seemed to "be reluctant to take on board" the need for serious action on the issue.
"I mean you gently try to suggest there may be other ways of doing things, in my case anyway, otherwise you lot (the media) accuse me of interfering and meddling, don't you?" Charles said.
The prince also avoided a question put to him asking if the British government was doing enough, replying: "I couldn't possibly comment."
Yesterday British MP Alok Sharma, the UK's COP president and host of the summit, also said he hoped Mr Morrison would attend in person and that Australia would set a net zero target.
"Australia are our closest mates, and I want them to come to our party and sing the same songs — and that means making ambitious commitments on emission reductions by 2030 and, obviously, a net zero target," Mr Sharma told the Financial Times.
COP26 is seen as the most important climate meeting since 2015, when the Paris Agreement was signed.
Last month, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said it was still being worked out who would be going from the government, but insisted Australia would be appropriately represented.
"It is not a no-show at the conference," she said.
"Australia will be strongly represented at the conference no matter by which senior representative and our commitment is very clear."
'They just talk'
Prince Charles, 72, is a staunch environmentalist and has spent much of his life promoting and fundraising for green causes.
He said he felt the concerns of younger generations and understood why climate campaigners took direct action when politicians failed to deliver on promises.
"They just talk, and the problem is to get action on the ground," Charles said.
The prince also said he could sympathise with groups such as Extinction Rebellion, but said protests which disrupt or anger people were not the way to go about change.
"All these young feeling nothing is ever happening, so of course they're going to get frustrated," he said.
"But it isn't helpful, I don't think, to do it in a way that alienates people.
"The point is that people should really notice how despairing so many young people are."
Prince Charles also revealed the personal changes he has made to his lifestyle to help combat climate change, including converting his vintage Aston Martin to run on "surplus English white wine and whey from the cheese process".
Loading
The 1970 DB6 convertible runs on blended E85 fuel, which is 85 per cent bioethanol and 15 per cent unleaded petrol.
He has also sought to overhaul the way royal properties are heated and powered, including his London residence Clarence House and farm buildings at Highgrove in Gloucestershire.
"I have tried for a very long time to make sure the heating is done in a way that is as sustainable as possible," he told the BBC.
"So I put in biomass boiler systems and then the solar panels which I managed to get onto Clarence House and at Highgrove on some of the farm buildings, plus trying to reduce as much as possible."
The prince has also altered his diet to lessen the impact on the environment, by stopping eating meat and fish on two days each week and having one day a week off dairy products.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiY2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTEwLTEyL3ByaW5jZS1jaGFybGVzLXNjb3R0LW1vcnJpc29uLWNsaW1hdGUtY2hhbmdlLWNvcDI2LzEwMDUzMTA5MtIBKGh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMDA1MzEwOTI?oc=5
2021-10-11 17:08:28Z
52781931426948
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar