Royal Family has ‘done what they can to reduce carbon footprint’ – expert

Prince Charles says tackling climate change is 'utterly essential'

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As part of their royal roles, Royal Family members are expected to take trips around the world to represent the UK. But often royals like Prince Charles, Prince William and Kate Middleton are criticised for taking private flights at great cost to the taxpayer and the planet. As stopping all international travel isn’t feasible for the royals, they turn to other solutions to do their part for the planet where they can.

Lucy Kebbell, founder of The WIP, said: “Being a member of the Royal Family often requires a lot of travel and public appearances, making it hard to be very sustainable.

“However, all in all, it appears that the Royal Family have done what they can to reduce their carbon footprint, as well as publicly investing in and championing sustainable solutions across a wide demographic of issues.

“Although it can be argued that much more could be done to achieve lower carbon emissions by travelling less.”

One royal who has long championed environmentalism is Prince Charles, and he is often cited as the most eco-conscious royal.

Ms Kebbell added: “I’ve always been impressed by the amount of work that the Prince of Wales has done throughout his career to champion the natural world.

“Both through his Duchy Originals range of organic food that is now Duchy Organic, sold in Waitrose, but also through his advocacy work and his recently launched Sustainable Markets Council.

“For a long time, before it was fashionable to do so, he has been a voice of support for the natural environment and for living in harmony with nature, not against it.”

Charles has adopted an array of green changes to his own lifestyle, including famously converting his vintage Aston Martin DB6 to run on surplus English wine and cheese.

But Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall still take private flights and use helicopters sometimes to get around the UK.

The WIP founder added: “In his public life, Charles’ work commitments take him all over the world, resulting in a very high carbon footprint from long-haul flights and private jet usage.

“Like other members of the Royal Family, Charles offsets his travelling when related to the Crown, however, arguably it would be better for him to simply fly or travel less to keep his footprint down.”

While Charles may still have a way to go before he leads a fully environmentally-friendly lifestyle, he does appear to have succeeded in raising the profile of green initiatives during his tenure as the Prince of Wales.

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Charles’ own interests in environmental protection stem from his late father Prince Philip, who was the first president of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Charles’ environmental interests have also formed the focal point of his son Prince William’s charitable work.

Through the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Royal Foundation, the Earthshot Prize was launched last year to award £1million grants to environmental initiatives.

Five more grants will be awarded at the next edition of the awards in Boston in December 2022.

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