Sustainability should not just be for the rich, Prince Charles expected to say at visit to World Economic Forum
Sustainability should not just be for the rich, the Prince of Wales will say, as he vows to make the urgent call for systematic change heard.
Prince Charles will launch an ambitious project to help financial markets become more sustainable during a visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland today.
The heir to the throne hopes his Sustainable Markets Council, which is supported by the World Economic Forum, will bring together leading individuals from the public and private sectors, charitable organisations and investors to identify ways to rapidly decarbonise the global economy and make the transition to sustainable markets.
He will say: “With consumers controlling an estimated 60% of global G.D.P., people around the world have the power to drive the transformation to sustainable markets.
"Yet, we cannot expect consumers to make sustainable choices if these choices are not clearly laid before them.
"As consumers increasingly demand sustainable products, they deserve to be told more about product lifecycles, supply chains and production methods.
"For a transition to take place, being socially and environmentally conscious cannot only be for those who can afford it.
"If all the true costs are taken into account, being socially and environmentally responsible should be the least expensive option because it leaves the smallest footprint behind.
"With 2020 being seen as the “super year”, kick-starting a decade of action for people and planet…I intend to do my utmost to ensure that the message of urgency, systemic change, collaboration and integration is heard.”
The ministerial jet Voyager is believed to be undergoing scheduled maintenance and the Prince will be travelling by a chartered plane during his brief visit to Switzerland and two-day trip to the Holy Land.
World leaders and leading business figures have faced criticism in the past for flying to Davos by private jet.
Scott Furssedonn-Wood, the Prince's deputy private secretary, has said: "We always look at a range of options, we take a number of factors into account when we decide how to travel, we weigh up things like cost of course with environmental impact as you'd expect, but also efficiency of time, size of delegation and crucially safety and security."
He highlighted a number of trips including the Prince's official visits to Japan and India where he flew by commercial airlines, but for this tour he said all of their considerations could not be satisfied by scheduled flights.
The Prince will make the two-hour car journey from the airport to Davos by electric vehicle, rather than helicopter, a Clarence House spokesman said.
The Prince's tour - the highest-level visit by the royal family to Israel and the Palestinian areas - will mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The heir to the throne will deliver a speech at the World Holocaust Forum being staged at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre in Jerusalem, on Thursday, joining around 40 world leaders and other dignitaries.
The Prince has been invited to the major event by Israel's president, Reuven Rivlin, and will meet the statesman during his two-day visit and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, who has invited the Prince to visit the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
While in the Middle East, the Prince will also visit Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ.
