Prince Charles calls for ‘unprecedented’ action on climate change

Prince Charles has called for action at an “unprecedented pace and scale” to tackle climate change, speaking at the virtual opening of Climate Week.

In a recorded message on Monday, the British royal drew a direct line between the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the threat of a climate catastrophe.

"Without swift and immediate action, at an unprecedented pace and scale, we will miss the window of opportunity to reset for... a more sustainable and inclusive future.

"[The] crisis has been with us for far too many years decried, denigrated and denied," the Prince of Wales said.

"It is now rapidly becoming a comprehensive catastrophe that will dwarf the impact of the coronavirus pandemic."

The heir to the British throne made the remarks at the start of the New York-hosted Climate Week, which coincides with this year’s virtual United Nation's General Assembly.

A range of government and business leaders including Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, were also due to address the opening event organised by The Climate Group.

Earlier in the day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres used an address marking the start of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly to warn that “climate calamity looms”.

With existing commitments falling far short of the kind of transformational action that scientists say is now vital, many advocates of climate intervention are urging governments to respond with the kind of urgency that has historically been reserved for wartime.

Prince Charles has long been an advocate for green causes. He likened the need for action required on climate change to European reconstruction efforts mounted by the United States after World War Two.

"At this late stage, I can see no other way forward but to call for a Marshall-like plan for nature, people and planet," he said.

"We must now put ourselves on a warlike footing, approaching our action from the perspective of a military-style campaign," the British royal added.

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The UN has put the need to address climate change at the heart of this year’s unusual general assembly. The meeting of world leaders is taking place virtually because of Covid-19 restrictions.

While many national governments are lagging behind on climate targets, pledges by cities and companies to slash greenhouse gas emissions have roughly doubled in less than a year, with many seeking environmentally friendly recoveries from the pandemic, according to a report published on Monday.

Cities and regions with a carbon footprint greater than the emissions of the United States and companies with a combined revenue of more than $11.4 trillion are now pursuing net zero emissions by the end of the century.

The majority are aiming for a zero-carbon economy by 2050, as part of a United Nations "Race to Zero" campaign, said the report by the Data-Driven EnviroLab and the NewClimate Institute think-tanks.

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ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat

While you're here

Con Coughlin: To survive, Nato must renew its sense of common purpose

Gavin Esler: Nato summit failed for making news more than it made deals

Simon Waldman: Nato continues to be Ankara’s best security guarantor

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Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

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'Worse than a prison sentence'

Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.

“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.

“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.

“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.

“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.

“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”

'Joker'

Directed by: Todd Phillips

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix

Rating: Five out of five stars