Long known as a passionate environmentalist, Prince Charles has been spending the weeks since he recovered from a mild case of COVID-19 connecting the pandemic back to some of his regular concerns. For the last few weeks, he has used writing and social media to promote Pick for Britain, a scheme to solve labor shortages on the country farm. Now he has shifted his attention to the world stage, announcing a project he’s calling “Great Reset,” which will call on world leaders to fix global problems made urgent by the pandemic.
Along with the World Economic Forum, the organization behind the event that gathers some of the world’s richest people for a symposium in Davos, Switzerland, Charles will kick off the project at a virtual event on June 3. In January, Charles started a partnership with the organization called the Sustainable Markets Initiative, and he used a panel discussion at Davos to talk about how he thought capitalism needed to “reset” in order to prevent the worst effects of climate change. Now he’s applying that same logic to the aftermath of coronavirus.
According to the Telegraph, Charles has been working with Klaus Schwab, the WEF’s founder, on projects to help shape recovery from the pandemic. “The Prince believes that as countries and businesses around the world look to rebuild after this crisis, there is a unique but narrow window of opportunity to accelerate the sustainability agenda in a way that puts people and planet first,” a spokesperson for the initiative told the newspaper. “Before industries simply return to the old ways of doing things, this group, led by the prince and Professor Schwab, is setting out to show we have a chance to recover by doing things differently and with a lot less negative impact on the world we live in.”
As the pandemic continues, Charles has also been connecting with the British people in more casual ways. On Wednesday, the Clarence House Instagram featured a video of his beehives to celebrate World Bee Day. Next Monday, he will be a guest DJ on the Classic FM radio station in order to bring awareness to struggling orchestras across the country. In the two hour set, he will feature songs from some of his favorite classical musicians.
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