“They are just talking”: Prince Charles understands Thunberg’s frustrations

LONDON, Oct. 11 (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince Charles has said he shares the concerns of Greta Thunberg and other environmental activists that world leaders are “just talking” about climate change and not doing enough to prevent its catastrophic impact.

Speaking ahead of COP26 of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, the British heir to the throne, 72, who has spent most of his life speaking out on green issues, said he understood why activists took direct action in the face of inactivity from politicians.

“They are just talking,” Charles told BBC TV in an interview that aired Monday. “And the problem is to act on the ground.”

Her point of view echoes the remarks of Thunberg and her fellow youth activists at a Youth4Climate event in Italy last month when she accused world leaders of “thirty years of blah, blah, blah”. Read more

Charles said he understood the desperation of young people and why groups such as Extinction Rebellion took to the streets to stage disruptive protests.

“All these kids think nothing ever happens, so of course they’re going to be frustrated. But it’s not helpful, I don’t think, to do it in a way that alienates people,” he said. said Charles.

“So I fully understand the frustration, the difficulty is how to manage that frustration in a more constructive than destructive way. The point is, people should really notice how desperate so many young people are.”

Charles, who will be joined by his mother Queen Elizabeth and eldest son Prince William for the events of the COP26 summit, called on governments to work with business leaders and the private sector to help resolve the climate crisis .

When asked if the UK government was doing enough, he replied: “I cannot comment”.

However, he said the COP26 summit in Glasgow, which will take place from October 31 to November 12, was a “faint hope fair”. Without action, “it will be a disaster,” he said. “It will be catastrophic. It is already starting to be catastrophic.”

Asked about his own green credentials, given his passion for cars and the carbon impact of royal palaces, Charles said he converted his 51-year-old Aston Martin to run on surplus white wine and whey from cheese making, and had installed a biomass boiler. solar systems and panels in his homes.

He also said he did not eat meat or fish two days a week and that he did not have dairy products on Mondays.

Reporting by Michael Holden; edited by Guy Faulconbridge and Ed Osmond

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