The Prince of Wales has called for “profound changes” to the global economy to avoid catastrophic climate change, warning that an “unprecedented level of co-operation and integration” would be needed to secure the well-being of the planet.
Charles, a passionate environmentalist, said that the “irresistible power of ’business as usual’ has so far defeated every attempt to ’rewire’ our economic system in ways that will deliver what we so urgently need”.
In a speech at St James’s Palace to business leaders and politicians at an event for the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), Charles said: “It seems to me that if we are to achieve different outcomes to the ones toward which we are presently headed, then we will absolutely need a different kind of economy to get there.
“The need to join up disparate efforts on finance, sustainable development, climate change and a whole range of related challenges has been apparent for decades.
“Yet if we are to limit climate change, conserve resources and keep ecosystems functioning, while at the same time improving the health and well-being of billions of people then we will need to see profound changes.”
The prince’s plea comes just weeks after the pope issued a stark warning over the urgent need to tackle “extraordinary climate change and an unprecedented destruction of ecosystems”.
In his first papal encyclical, Pope Francis called for urgent policies to cut carbon emissions, warning that “doomsday predictions can no longer be met with irony or disdain” and that climate change was mostly down to human activity.
The pontiff said people in wealthy countries need to change their unsustainable lifestyles, as exploitation of the planet has already exceeded acceptable limits and millions of tonnes of waste are being generated, making the Earth look more and more “like an immense pile of filth”.
In his lecture Charles also highlighted an estimate from the International Energy Agency which argued that ending subsidies to oil, gas and coal companies could help cut carbon emissions that contribute to global warming by 13%.
The prince attacked the culture of wastefulness engendered in the world, saying: “The challenge now is to go much further and much faster, progressively eliminating waste by developing a circular economy that mimics nature’s loops and cycles, rather than perpetuating our largely unsustainable and linear way of doing things.”
And he said that balancing the development of new infrastructure to cope with the planet’s booming population with the need to keep ecological systems and human communities in good health and thriving would require more “than tinkering with business as usual. It will require us to find different ways of doing things”.
Charles called for an “unprecedented level of co-operation and integration, not only in relation to building synergy between ecological, social and economic goals, but in finding ways to integrate the action of different groups of actors in the economy”.
Highlighting the importance of 2015 being “a vital year for humanity”, with a series of UN summits taking place to set new global warming targets and goals for sustainable development, he called on governments to develop new strategies and create economic conditions best placed to attract the right finance for the “correct priorities”.
The prince said: “If, however, we begin not just to conceive, but actually implement the kinds of integrated economic strategies that will lead us toward different outcomes, then we might still manage to achieve a secure human future within the ecological boundaries of our small planet.
“To do this will require us to take a longer view; to see that we urgently need to rewire our economy – to tilt policy and finance in favour of sustainable, low carbon business models and unlock real business leadership.”
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