RIYADH: Prince Charles called for the world to move to a “war-like footing” to combat the effects of climate change during the World Leader’s Summit at COP26 in Scotland.
The heir to the British throne and most senior royal at COP26 told world leaders that climate change was a bigger threat to the globe than the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Time has quite literally run out”, he warned, before calling on global corporations to help fund the transition of poorer nations to net zero carbon emissions.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has shown us just how devastating a global cross-border threat can be,” Prince Charles said. “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 added: “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.”