Prince Harry risks environmentalists’ wrath by taking helicopter from London to Birmingham two days before ‘climate change’ speech to young people
- On Wednesday at Wembley Harry praised youngsters for their attitudes to climate change, calling on people to stop damaging the environment
- But two days earlier he took a helicopter flight from London to Birmingham
- A first class train trip would have cost £34, the flight as much as £6000
- Research has shown train travel produces 90 per cent less carbon emissions
The Duke of Sussex faces the prospect of accusations of hypocrisy for taking a private helicopter trip just two days before his Wembley Arena speech to youngsters about climate change.
Harry took the helicopter from London to Birmingham for two official engagements on Monday.
But two days later he and Meghan were on stage in the capital telling 12,000 young fans to ‘wake up’ and act ‘on the damaging impact our ways of living are having on the world’.
Last month the Duchess flew to a New York baby shower by private jet to the fury of environmentalists.
Harry and Meghan praised young people for their attitudes to climate change on Wednesday
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A spokesman for Friends of the Earth told MailOnline: ‘Private air travel obviously comes with a huge carbon footprint.
‘Perhaps for future trips the Duchess could consider less carbon intensive modes of travel. We invite her to set a good climate trend by flying less’.
Prince Harry had a number of alternatives for his trip, including a seat on the train from Euston to Birmingham New Street.
A first class ticket, booked in advance, costs just £34 and the train runs every 10 to 20 minutes, taking around 80 minutes to complete the journey.
But a helicopter charter between England’s first and second cities costs £6,000 to £6,500 and takes around three quarters of an hour.
On Monday Harry had two official engagements in Birmingham – including this memorial to the victims of the 2015 Tunisia terrorism – and flew by helicopter from London
The Duke of Sussex arrived by helicopter at Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, to officially open a memorial dedicated to victims of the 2015 terror attacks in Tunisia
Research by Eurostar has found train travel saves between 70 and 90 percent of the carbon emissions of air travel over similar distances to the Duke’s journey.
During his three-hour visit to the Midlands, Harry visited a hospital and opened a memorial to the victims of the 2015 Tunisia terror attacks.
Then two days later at the Wembley event to mark WE Day — which celebrates young people making a difference in the world – he said: ‘Climate change is a humanitarian issue and one where we’ve been far too slow in waking up to the issues and acting on the damaging impact our ways of living are having on the world.
‘We now have the facts, the science, the technology and the ability to save not just our planet, but ourselves.’
He told the youngsters: ‘I know you don’t sit back and wait for solutions, you take action and create them.
‘Our world’s greatest assets are threatened every day . . . every forest, every river, every ocean, every coastline, every insect, every wild animal. Every blade of grass, every ray of sun is crucial to our survival.’
William and Kate routinely use helicopters for public duties. They took one to Blackpool on Wednesday.
Kensington Palace told The Sun: ‘Travel decisions are based on a number of factors, including effective use of time, security and minimising the impact on others, while ensuring the full schedule can be delivered.’
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