Prince Charles is once again speaking out about the importance of taking immediate action to stave off global warming, warning that we are only “poisoning ourselves” by continuing to ignore this dire situation.
The royal, who has been an outspoken environmentalist since the 1970s, delivered an eight-minute, pre-recorded address at the Our Ocean Conference on Wednesday. At the event hosted by the Republic of Palau, an archipelago of over 500 islands in the Micronesia region, he said, “What we do to the ocean and to nature, we ultimately do to ourselves…The situation is indeed dire and the consequences of inaction and business as usual are unimaginable.” Charles noted that for places like Palau the devastating effects of climate change aren’t just theoretical, but something they’ve experienced “first hand.” He continued, “We have seen unequivocal evidence that plastics are not only polluting our waters but are entering our food chains and our bodies. We are quite literally poisoning ourselves.”
The Prince of Wales went on to say, “It seems obvious that we should be looking for natural alternatives to plastic and transitioning rapidly to these alternatives. In the meantime, we need to support the world’s innovators to scale up the removal of plastics from our ocean, waterways and landfills while strengthening recycling efforts and the more rapid development of the circular economy…While we are seeing some success in mobilizing action on climate, it’s absolutely crucial we accelerate action for the oceans.”
The royal then listed his five points of action for beginning to protect the world’s oceans and wildlife. Those points include increasing marine protection programs, rewarding sustainable fishing practices, supporting innovative strategies for removing plastics from the ocean, supporting tourism in coastal areas, and supporting those restoring coral reefs and endangered marine environments.
Charles concluded, “Ladies and gentlemen, the Ocean’s centrality on this planet as the largest reservoir of biodiversity and life demands our concerted attention and transformative action. I pray, therefore, that in response to the immense crisis we face, this summit can lead to a genuine global alliance between the private, public and NGO sectors… I stand with you all in this most pressing of endeavors.”
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