Prince Charles has urged world leaders to put themselves on a “war footing” to halt the devastating climate change threatening the planet.
In a speech to COP26 in Glasgow, the Prince of Wales said time had “run out” and called for fossil fuel economies to be transformed.
The Queen’s son made his comments as over 100 world leaders gathered in Scotland's largest city in a bid to reach a new global agreement on climate change.
The massive Glasgow gathering, which includes President Biden, is attempting to lock counties into a deal limiting temperature rises to 1.5 degrees.
Charles, who has a long-standing commitment to the environment, said:
“The Covid-19 pandemic has shown us just how devastating a global cross-border threat can be.
“Climate change and biodiversity loss are no different – in fact, they pose an even greater existential threat, to the extent that we have to put ourselves on what might be called a war-like footing.”
He also told the leaders the “eyes and hopes of the world” are on them to act fast because “time has quite literally run out”.
The Prince of Wales added: “The scale and scope of the threat we face call for a global, systems-level solution based on radically transforming our current fossil fuel-based economy to one that is genuinely renewable and sustainable.
“So ladies and gentlemen my plea today is for countries to come together to create the environment that enables every sector of industry to take the action required.
“We know this will take trillions, not billions, of dollars. We also know that countries, many of whom are burdened by growing levels of debt, simply cannot afford to ‘go green’.
“Here, we need a vast military-style campaign to marshal the strength of the global private sector. With trillions at its disposal – far beyond global GDP and, with the greatest respect, beyond even the governments of the world’s leaders – it offers the only real prospect of achieving fundamental economic transition.”
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