Speaking at Royal Society event on health and climate change, prince says that failure to act on global warming would be ‘death sentence’ for the planet

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The Prince of Wales has compared the planet to a “sick patient,” warning it could face its “death certificate” at the hands of climate change.



Speaking to health experts at the Royal Society in London on Wednesday, Charles said: “We can only pray that our sick planetary patient might be placed on a road to recovery, in the process bringing gains for human well-being.

“Failure to write the prescription, however, might leave us contemplating the death certificate instead.

“So, my fervent hope is that you can find the means to make the difference that our world so desperately needs.”

The prince was speaking to health professionals, health ministers and senior civil servants about “putting health at the centre of the climate change debate”.

He said climate change was a challenge of “astonishing complexity” and urged health practitioners to be bolder about highlighting its effects on well-being.

He said: “I hardly need to tell you we are faced, I fear, as far as the problem of human-induced climate change is concerned, with a challenge of astonishing complexity.

“The fact of climate change is now accepted by every major scientific body in the whole world.

“The gravity and immediacy of the threat it poses to us and our children and grandchildren is also accepted by constituencies that can scarcely be accused of being part of some half-baked conspiracy dreamt up by extreme environmentalists intent on undermining capitalism.

“These constituencies include the UN, the World Bank; The Pentagon and the UK Ministry of Defence, the CIA, NSA. ... and, I’m happy to say, nurses and doctors.”

The prince added: “Your message isn’t just of alarm, but of hope.

“Actions which are good for the planet are also good for human health.

“Taking a more active approach to transport by walking and cycling and adopting healthy diets reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also reduce rates of obesity, heart disease, cancer and more, saving lives and money.

“Reductions in air pollution also result - with separate and additional benefits to human health. A healthy planet and healthy people are two sides of the same coin.”