The Prince of Wales has urged Commonwealth leaders to take action and lead the world in the “right direction” towards a sustainable future.
Charles described the family of nations as a “common market” which if it worked together could tackle this issue that “lies at the very heart of what the Commonwealth is looking to achieve”.
In a meeting of his Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI), the prince spoke to world leaders in Rwanda including the African country’s president Paul Kagame and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The prince told the delegates who included Fifa president Gianni Infantino: “If we can commit to being bold in our ambition – but more importantly in our action – the Commonwealth, as one of the world’s largest ‘common markets’ has a real opportunity to lead the world in the right direction.”
The heir to the throne went on to say: “This meeting has been, in fact, three years on the making.
“Following CHOGM 2018 in London, I felt strongly that sustainability, and indeed a sustainable future, lies at the very heart of what the Commonwealth is looking to achieve – for Nature, People and Planet.”
Charles told the meeting he had been working for the past three years with his SMI.
He said he had more than 300 chief executive officers from across the globe “wanting to contribute to accelerating the world’s green economy”.
He added: “But, ladies and gentlemen, they cannot do this without your help.
“To move forward at pace and scale we need to be clear on the enabling environment and the demand signals so that industry and investors know where to go, be it for renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, sustainable aviation fuel or regenerative agriculture.”
