Essay by Eric Worrall
Time Magazine picking up on the potential climate policy conflict between King Charles and Britain’s new Prime Minister Liz Truss.
Climate Change Could Strain Relations Between King Charles III and U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss
BY CIARA NUGENT
SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 4:38 PM EDT
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Many expect Charles, an unusually outspoken royal as Prince, to have a tougher time keeping silent—especially when it comes to the climate. …
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Some activists, however, say there are major holes in the King’s environmental philosophy. He continues to use highly polluting private jets, for example. And in a 2010 speech at Oxford University, he cast population growth in Africa and other developing regions as a “monumental” challenge for the planet—an idea repeated by his son Prince William last year. Given that people living in Africa make a tiny contribution to greenhouse gas emissions compared to residents of countries like the U.K., these kinds of “overpopulation” arguments arguably carry racist undertones.
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If King Charles III is a “climate King,” as some environmental news outlets have optimistically labeled him, Liz Truss is definitely not a “climate Prime Minister.” Commentators say she has shown strikingly little interest in the issue during her 12 years in parliament, despite serving as environment secretary from 2014 to 2016. Truss has promised to “double down” on the U.K.’s existing 2050 net-zero emissions goal. But campaigners have serious doubts about her commitment to the drastic actions needed to reach it. The U.K.’s green party dubbed her a “disaster” for the climate.
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Obviously it is reassuring to read UK Prime Minister Liz Truss does not regard climate action as a serious priority. Let us hope she acts on her apparent beliefs, and ditches the lunatic net zero policies which are sending household energy bills skyrocketing, and are strangling the life out of the British economy.
Correction (EW): “Strikingly little interest”, not “Surprisingly little interest”.
