By Kayode Falade
Almost exactly 70 years after his mother`s coronation, King Charles III, was officially crowned monarch at Westminster Abbey in London, the United Kingdom on Saturday May 6.
Charles became king upon his mother’s death on 8 September 2022. At the age of 73, he became the oldest person to accede to the British throne, after having been the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales in British history.
The 74 years old King Charles III is a world celebrated environmentalist and climate enthusiast.
While heir to the throne Charles was an active campaigner for the environment over more than five decades.
In 1970, aged 21, he gave his first major speech on the issue, warning of the dangerous effects of plastic pollution.
After 50 years of environmental activism, Charles III has to take on political neutrality as King.
Throughout his life, King Charles III has been a champion for environmental issues. He has spent years campaigning for conservation, organic farming and other eco causes.
So much so that many have come to see His Majesty as a leading climate advocate, funding charities and campaigns that have global significance.
But, as he has now taken to the throne, there is now an expectation of political neutrality that will likely bring an end to his grand statements about the health of the planet.
Indeed some ‘eco-friendly’ touches were added to the coronation, like the leaf-embroidered screen behind which he was anointed. And “reusing” his grandfather’s golden robes.
It was in 1970 – at the age of 21 – that the now King first spoke to the public about his climate concerns.
He told the Countryside Steering Committee for Wales about the “growing menace of oil pollution at sea,” lamented chemicals being discharged into rivers and called attention to the gases being “pumped out by endless cars and aeroplanes.”
He has said that, at the time, he was considered “completely mad” for his warnings about pollution and the damage being done to rural habitats. But now, those opinions are not so “dotty” as they were thought to be 50 years ago.
In recent years, Charles III has become a pivotal figure in the international environmental movement. He has backed charities, championed campaign groups and gotten personally involved in conversations with world leaders about the climate crisis.
He did not shy away from potentially controversial statements either. A speech in 2013 saw him take aim at “the international association of corporate lobbyists” who had turned the planet into a “dying patient”. Bringing business leaders together to find solutions was a key focus for the then-Prince.
In the 1980s Charles III also began transforming his estate in Gloucestershire, UK, into a haven for organic farming. The gardens at Highgrove House are now world renowned for their advancements in sustainability and biodiversity.
For years, he has also published his own total carbon footprint – including travel for unofficial business. His total impact for the year up to March 2022 was 432.3 tonnes – far above the EU average of 6.8 tonnes per person.
From meeting with Greta Thunberg to taking part in COP26 in Glasgow last year to openly supporting protest group Extinction Rebellion, he’s known around the world for his commitment to environmental causes.
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How have environmentalists reacted to Charles III becoming King?
For many involved in the fight against climate change, there is hope that some part of Charles III’s environmental action will carry on.
“His Majesty the King has played a hugely significant role over the past decades on critical global issues such as climate change, the protection of nature and biodiversity,” says Tim Wainwright, chief executive of WaterAid – a charity that the King is president of.
“With the climate crisis being felt in some of the most vulnerable communities across the globe, and in many Commonwealth countries from Pakistan to Mozambique, we hope he will continue to be that driving force for good.”
American environmentalist and politician Al Gore thanked King Charles III on Twitter for his “decades of leadership and deep commitment to the environment and protecting the future of our planet.”
He also acknowledged, however, that his accession to the throne was a “bittersweet moment.”
“As King Charles III begins his reign, I am grateful for his decades of leadership and deep commitment to the environment and protecting the future of our planet. I wish him comfort in this bittersweet moment and strength in a time of profound consequence for the UK and the world, “said Al Gore (@algore) September 10, 2022.
Tony Juniper, former director of Friends of the Earth and now chair of Natural England, called the King “the most significant environmental figure in history.”
In an interview with the BBC, he said that Charles III had been involved in discussions about rainforests, agriculture, food security and climate change for 50 years, accumulating a vast amount of knowledge in that time.
Will Charles III continue to be an environmental champion?
Some believe that the issue of climate change is above party politics. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese encouraged His Majesty to continue his environmental work saying that it didn’t break political neutrality.
“I think dealing with the challenge of climate change shouldn’t be seen as a political issue, it should be seen as an issue that is about humanity and about our very quality of life and survival as a world,” he told Australian news outlet ABC.
“I think engagement in issues is very different from engagement in party political matters. That would be entirely inappropriate.”
“It will no longer be possible to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I cared so deeply, but I know this important work will go on in the trusted hands of others,” King Charles III said.
King Charles III has co-authored a child-friendly book about climate change.
Charles penned a personal afterword for the publication, A Ladybird Book: Climate Change, written last summer when he was still the Prince of Wales.
The constitutional monarch, who must remain politically neutral, wrote of how he admired children across the world for “raising the alarm and calling for big changed to happen.”
“Their efforts have emphasised the importance of caring about what life will be like in the future – there is a lesson in this for us all,” Charles said.
