Prince Charles to urge big business for climate solutions in ‘year of action’

The Prince of Wales will call on leading international figures and global businesses to back solutions for tackling climate change as he sees 2020 as “a year for action”.

In a speech at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting – in Davos, Switzerland on the 22 January – he will launch his Sustainable Markets Council.

The initiative is designed to bring together leading individuals from the private, public and philanthropic sectors to find ways to decarbonise the global economy and make sure the right projects are getting the investment they need.

Described as an initiative that the prince passionately believes in, it’ll bring together those coming up with solutions for some of the world’s most pressing environmental problems, and put them in contact with leading business figures and international investors who can help scale up the ideas and implement them in the industries that need to tackle their environmental footprint.

A palace spokesperson said: “The prince sees this as a year of action, so this is about building those coalitions, bringing together people to try and find the solutions that we all need.”

They added: “The prince has long thought that it’s the private sector that will really solve this problem, and that governments can create the right conditions but it’s going to be the private sector, international corporations and international investors who can really change the course that we’re on.”

For the past 50 years, the Prince of Wales has dedicated a large amount of his working life to bringing public awareness to environmental issues.

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In 1970, he made his first speech talking about the impact of plastic pollution.

Last week his son, the Duke of Cambridge, launched a new prize to try to “dispel the current pessimism around the environment”.

The Earthshot prize, will recognise individuals, groups or organisations who come up with solutions to environmental problems.

Speaking about the Royal Family’s commitment to highlighting this issue, a spokesperson for the Prince of Wales said: “The Prince and the Duke are both delighted that they have both got parallel opportunities to pursue the same objective over the coming year.”

Next year is being seen as a “super year” for the environment when crucial climate summits will take place, including the Convention on Biodiversity in China and the COP26 Climate Change Conference in the UK.

Clarence House also announced further details of a trip Prince Charles will make to the Middle East following his appearance at the World Economic Forum.

He’ll visit Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in what’s described as the highest level British visit that there has ever been to either place.

The prince will meet President Reuven Rivlin and attend the World Holocaust Forum on 23 January, the following day he will meet President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem.

Asked if the current tensions in Iran may have an impact on the visit, the Foreign Office refused to comment on security matters but said plans for any visit to the region are always kept under review.

The Prince of Wales will travel on a private plane for the visits.

The palace said cost, environmental impact, safety and security are always taken into consideration when travel arrangements are made, but it was not deemed feasible to use commercial flights due to the prince’s working schedule.

They also added that he would not go to Davos if he wasn’t already travelling to the Middle East and that he would be travelling from the airport in Switzerland to Davos in an electric car, rather than taking a faster journey by helicopter.

(c) Sky News 2020: Prince Charles to urge big business for climate solutions in ‘year of action’