At
the
beginning
of
our
special
week
of
content
on
COP28
on
Monday,
we
asked
who
would
make
the
strongest
moral
case
for
progress
in
the
fight
against
climate
change.
It
turns
out
the
answer
to
that
is
none
other
than
King
Charles.
COP28
is
now
well
underway
in
Dubai
and
we’ve
already
seen
a
range
of
high-profile
speakers
including
President
Lula
of
Brazil.
We’ve
also
already
had
the
first
agreement
in
the
form
of
a
“loss
and
damage”
resolution,
which
pledges
financial
redress
to
countries
most
affected
by
climate
change
(this
was
proposed
in
COP27).
But
the
highest-profile
intervention
so
far
has
been
fromy
King
Charles,
addressing
his
first
COP
as
king.
As
Prince
of
Wales
he
was
an
ardent
environmental
campaigner,
before
it
was
fashionable,
so
brings
with
him
an
extra
layer
of
credibility.
He
made
his
COP
debut
at
the
21st
summit
in
Paris,
where
the
landmark
Paris
Agreement
was
signed
off.
The
great
privilege
(and
balancing
act)
of
being
a
British
monarch
is
that
you
can
be
apolitical
but
speak
frankly.
You’re
not
seeking
re-election,
after
all.
Charles
immediately
made
his
message
personal:
“I
pray
with
all
my
heart
that
COP28
will
be
another
critical
turning
point
towards
genuine
transformational
action”.
Here
are
the
key
points
of
his
speech.
Humans
Are
the
Problem
“The
human
race
is
conducting
a
huge
and
dangerous
experiment
that
is
overwhelming
the
natural
world”,
he
said.
“We’re
changing
every
ecological
system
at
once
and
nature
can’t
cope”
Nature
is
the
Solution
The
Earth
is
our
“ultimate
sustainer”
with
its
own
precious
economy.
“Unless
we
rapidly
repair
and
restore
nature’s
economy,
based
on
harmony
and
balance,
which
is
our
ultimate
sustainer,
our
own
economy
and
survivability
will
be
imperilled.”
He
referenced
indigenous
people’s
view
of
nature:
“we
are
all
connected.
Not
only
as
human
beings,
but
with
all
living
things
and
all
that
sustains
life
[…].
The
Earth
does
not
belong
to
us,
we
belong
to
the
Earth.”
He
described
the
planet
as
a
“grand
and
sacred
system”.
“The
Earth
does
not
belong
to
us,
we
belong
to
the
Earth,”
he
added.
Years
gone
by
this
would
have
been
seen
as
starry-eyed
idealism,
but
now
environmental
summits
–
attended
by
oligarchs
and
hard-headed
business
types
as
much
as
green
campaigners
–
are
increasingly
focusing
on
biodiversity,
deforestation
and
climate
impact.
As
our
COP
28
previews
show,
these
issues
will
be
top
of
the
agenda.
We’re
(Nearly)
Doomed
It’s
clear
that
“our
own
economy
and
survivability
will
be
imperilled”
if
the
status
quo
prevails,
the
king
said.
We’re
all
aware
that
“alarming
tipping
points”
have
already
been
reached.
Previous
COP
summits
may
have
focused
on
“preventing”
climate
change,
but
the
global
sense
of
urgency
has
jumped
in
the
last
few
years.
Now
delegates
will
talk
about
“adaptation”
to
the
worst
effects.
But
Hope
is
Important
Charles
then
called
on
delegates
to
keep
hope
alive
that
something
can
still
be
done.
“If
we
act
together
to
safeguard
our
precious
planet,
the
welfare
of
all
our
people
will
surely
follow,”
he
told
them.
This
challenge
of
saving
the
planet
is
an
important
responsibiliy
for
world
leaders:
“I
can
only
urge
you
to
meet
it
with
ambition,
imagination,
and
a
true
sense
of
the
emergency
we
face.”
Next
Generations
Will
Either
Thank
us
or
Curse
us
Our
grandchildren
(Charles
has
five)
will
ask
us
not
what
we
said
at
COP,
but
will
be
“living
with
the
consequences
of
what
we
did
or
didn’t
do”,
he
stressed.
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