Prins Charles: 'Klimaatsceptici maken van de aarde een stervende patiënt'
Een devoot broeikasgelovige spreekt zich uit over een controversieel thema.
Moderne monarchieën ambiëren een bindend element te vormen in de samenleving. Leden van het koninklijk huis kiezen daarom als regel geen partij in maatschappelijk controversiële kwesties en onthouden zich van polariserende uitspraken. De Britse kroonprins Charles staat er om bekend dat hij deze regel aan zijn laars lapt, in het bijzonder waar het gaat om milieu en klimaat. Er wordt wel gefluisterd dat zijn moeder daar niet blij mee is en dat zij daarom nog steeds niet de kroon aan hem heeft overgedragen.
Onder de titel, 'Charles: 'Climate change sceptics are turning Earth into dying patient'' schreef Fiona Harvey in 'The Guardian'.
Heir to throne intervenes on issue dividing coalition, making outspoken criticism of attempts to tackle global warming.
Prince Charles attacked businesses which fail to care for the environment, comparing them with a doctor taking care of a critically ill patient.
Prince Charles has attacked corporate lobbyists and climate change sceptics for turning the Earth into a "dying patient", making his most outspoken criticism yet of the world's failure to tackle global warming just when the heir to the throne is assuming a growing number of the duties of what is supposed to be an apolitical monarchy. Hosting a two-day conference for forest scientists at St James's Palace in London, the Prince of Wales satirised those who stand in the way of climate action, characterising them as "the confirmed sceptics" and "the international association of corporate lobbyists". Faced with these forces of opposition, "science finds itself up the proverbial double blind gum tree", he added.
At the debate on environmental issues, hours after the prince attended the Queen's speech, Charles attacked businesses which failed to care for the environment and compared them with a doctor taking care of a critically ill patient. "If you think about the impact of climate change, [it should be how] a doctor would deal with the problem," he told an audience of government ministers and diplomats from the UK and abroad, as well as businesspeople and scientists. "A scientific hypothesis is tested to absolute destruction, but medicine can't wait. If a doctor sees a child with a fever, he can't wait for [endless] tests. He has to act on what is there."
The prince's remarks were attacked by climate change sceptics and dismissed by several lobbyists. Benny Peiser, of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, the thinktank founded by Lord Lawson, which takes a climate-sceptic stance, accused the prince of poisoning the debate on climate change with "apocalyptic language that a government minister would not use", and accused him of being happy for consumers to pay more in their energy bills for green policies. ...
Prince Charles's views were reinforced by Lord Stern, author of the 2006 report on the economics of climate change, who called sceptics and lobbyists "forces of darkness" who would be driven back. [Noot HL: Dit rapport, dat niet 'peerreviewed' is, werd door verschillende milieueconomen, waaronder 'onze' Richard Tol, afgekraakt. Zie hier.]
The Prince's words were leapt on by climate sceptics including Peiser, who said Charles was "out of touch with half the UK population".
Zie verder hier.
Is er nu niemand in zijn entourage die Prins Charles tegen zichelf kan beschermen?
Voor degenen die de Britse monarchie een warm hart toedragen, is het te hopen dat koningin Elizabeth net zo oud wordt als haar moeder (102!).
Voor mijn eerdere DDS-bijdragen, zie hier.
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