King Charles has been praised for his COP28 speech calling for further efforts to protect the planet.
Syntegra MD Alan King hailed his opening ceremony speech as “genuine concern and critically important,” after the monarch said that a net-zero and nature-positive future was achievable, but that a “starker and darker world” was inevitable based on current behaviours.
King Charles told the World Leaders Summit at COP28 in Dubai that nations need to mobilise “the trillions of dollars we need” to deliver a net-zero and nature-positive agreement.
“Eight years ago, I was most touched to be asked to speak at the opening of COP21 in Paris, which culminated in the Paris Agreement – a landmark moment of hope and optimism, where nations put their differences aside for the common good,” the King told world leaders.
“I pray with all my heart that COP28 will be another critical turning point toward genuine transformational action at a time when, already, as scientists have been warning for so long we are seeing alarming tipping points being reached.”
King Charles told the thousands of negotiators at COP28 that an “unmissable opportunity to keep our common hope alive” was still in their hands, and that it could be realised through “ambition, imagination, and a true sense of the emergency we face”.
The King highlighted the “unprecedented” floods in Pakistan and other countries and Canada’s “most significant” wildfire season as proof that the tipping points of the climate crisis were being felt today.
And he called on public, private and charitable organisations to strengthen their ongoing efforts to respond to the climate and ecological crises while safeguarding society. He added that more finance needed to flow into solutions to these crises and that innovation such as renewables should be deployed across all industries and nations.
The King called for a “coherent” joined-up approach to achieve the required outcomes, stating that this month’s discussions could deliver an “ambitious new vision” that would protect the planet and its people.
Alan King said: “King Charles once again showed his genuine concern for the environment and outlined how we can all come together to tackle the climate crisis.
“His comments were insightful and critically important because, as he said, time is running out for measures to be taken to halt the disastrous increasing temperature situation.
“I’m confident enough world leaders are willing to take the steps he mentioned to make a difference and then it us up to all of us to act sustainably and responsibly to implement their decisions.”
King Charles called for subsidies that harm nature to be “eliminated with all due speed” and for reforms of financial infrastructure for a “nature-positive future”.
He said: “Unless we rapidly repair and restore nature’s economy, based on harmony and balance, which is our ultimate sustainer, our own economy and survivability will be imperilled.
“Harmony with nature must be maintained, the Earth does not belong to us, we belong to the Earth.”
Commenting on the King’s opening speech at the COP28 summit, Zahra Hdidou, Senior Climate and Resilience Advisor, ActionAid UK said: “We welcome King Charles’ keynote speech and his continued dedication towards climate action. For several decades His Majesty has championed stronger climate action. While we value the King’s commitments towards tackling climate change, his ambition is deeply compromised by his own Government.
“The irony should not be lost that the King is flanked at the summit by two men who remain committed to climate-wrecking policies. On one side we have a Prime Minister who has gone on record as saying he wants to “max out” North Sea oil and gas – and stands accused by former colleagues as being ‘uninterested’ in environmental policies. And on the other side, the King is joined by a foreign secretary who swiftly abandoned his own promise to lead the greenest government on record just three years after being elected in 2010.”
The Syntegra boss added: “It is time to put political differences to one side and focus on the environmental crisis unfolding before us.
“It is incumbent on all of us to play our part and I hope King Charles’ intervention will help rally support for sustainable solutions which are at our fingertips and just need to be actioned.”
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