Young people have had enough of empty words on the environment and are “crying out for concerted action”, the Prince of Wales has said, as he accepts the “fundamental responsibility” of his generation to help them.

The Prince, who spoke on his final day of a Caribbean tour, said his children, grandchildren, and their peers deserved action to help them out of an “appalling crisis” caused by “potentially catastrophic global warming”.

In a speech was delivered in the Cayman Islands in praise of the measures they have taken to protect marine life, the Prince acknowledged the newly-engaged Commonwealth youth who are putting the pressure on their elders for change.

Young people in Britain and further afield have recently been engaging in a series of “climate change strikes”, saying: “We demand the world’s decision makers take responsibility and solve this crisis.”

The Prince, who has long championed teenagers and young adults through schemes including his Prince’s Trust, did not refer directly to the strikes but is understood to have been encouraged by seeing a new generation speaking out on key issues.