Heir to UK throne says time is running out to develop a more socially and environmentally aware capitalism
(Pic: Dan Marsh/Flickr)
Business leaders and politicians will have to take unpopular decisions if the world is to avoid dangerous levels of climate change, Prince Charles told a London conference last night.
The heir to the UK throne, an ardent environmentalist, was speaking to an audience including former US President Bill Clinton, Bank of England chair Mark Carney and IMF chief Christine Lagarde.
“We can choose to act now before it is finally too late, using all of the power and influence that each of you can bring to bear to create an inclusive, sustainable and resilient society,” he is quoted by Reuters say saying.
“There will, of course, be hard choices to make, and, take it from me, in the short term, you will not be popular with your peers, but if you stand firm and take the kind of action that is needed, I have every confidence the rewards will be immense.”
The Prince added the current ‘operating model’ of capitalism was destroying the planet, and with it hopes of a better future for coming generations.
It’s not the first time the Prince has made his thoughts on climate change know.
Last October he told investors they had a duty to manage their funds “wisely” to protect their children’s futures, calling climate change a “gathering storm”.
In May 2013 he said climate sceptics were turning the Earth into a “dying patient”, labelling those to reject the science as “forces of darkness”.
In his own address, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney called on individuals and businesses to have a “sense of their responsibilities” to wider society.
“Market fundamentalism – in the form of light-touch regulation, the belief that bubbles cannot be identified and that markets always clear – contributed directly to the financial crisis and the associated erosion of social capital,” he said.