Britain’s Prince Charles said on Monday that he shares the concerns of Greta Thunberg and other environmental activists that world leaders “just talk” about climate change.
“All these young [people] feel nothing is ever happening, so of course they are going to get frustrated. I totally understand,” Charles told BBC TV in an interview broadcast on Monday.
He said he understood why environmental campaigners take direct action when they feel politicians are not doing enough to fight climate change.
“They just talk, and the problem is to get action,” the 72-year-old heir to the British throne, who spent most of his life speaking out on green issues, said about politicians and world leaders.
His views are the same as Thunberg and other youth campaigners at a Youth4Climate event in Italy last month when she accused world leaders of “thirty years of blah, blah, blah”.
“We can no longer let the people in power decide what hope is. Hope is not passive. Hope is not blah blah blah. Hope is telling the truth. Hope is taking action”
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) September 28, 2021
My speech at #Youth4Climate #PreCOP26 in Milan. pic.twitter.com/BA62GpST2O
Climate change will fundamentally reshape life on Earth in the coming decades, even if humans can control greenhouse gas emissions, UN climate science advisors said in June.
Animal and plant species extinction, more widespread diseases, extreme heat, ecosystem collapse, cities destroyed by rising seas and other devastating climate impacts are accelerating and will become obvious in less than thirty years, they said.
Charles said he understood young people’s despair and why groups such as Extinction Rebellion carry out disruptive protests.
“All these young feeling nothing is ever happening, so of course they’re going to get frustrated. But it isn’t helpful, I don’t think, to do it in a way that alienates people,” Charles said.
The Prince of Wales will attend the UN Climate Conference COP26 with several other senior members of the Royal Family.
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