Appeal as Prince takes wildlife charity role

Against the background of global threats like climate change, rainforest destruction and dwindling fish stocks, Prince Charles said he was taking up the reins of the conservation charity at a “crucial moment”.

In a speech at St James’s Palace to mark his new role with the WWF’s (World Wildlife Fund) UK arm, the Prince suggested that a new “cause celebre”, like the WWF’s famous fight to safeguard the panda, was needed to highlight the predicament the world was facing.

Charles said the receding Arctic sea ice cap might be the issue that prompts the world to think about what people are doing to the planet.

Speaking to WWF-UK staff and other environmentalists the prince said that what was needed was “robust leadership into the future”.

He added: “For history will not judge us by how much economic growth we achieve in the immediate years ahead, nor by how much we expand material consumption, but by the legacy we leave for our children, grandchildren and their grandchildren.

“We are consuming what is rightfully theirs by sacrificing long-term progress on the altar of immediate satisfaction and convenience. That is hardly responsible behaviour.

“There is an urgent need for all of us to concentrate our efforts on sustaining, nurturing and protecting the earth’s natural capital and, moreover, reshaping our economic systems so that nature sits at the very heart of our thinking.

“This is the mission of WWF-UK, and it is my mission as well.”

His green credentials are well known as he has campaigned on a range of environmental issues for many decades focusing on concerns like protecting the world’s rainforests.