Prince Charles calls for action on deforestation

Prince Charles, on Thursday, called for a new world wide fund to assist in the preservation of tropical rainforests, he said in a speech to the European Parliament “In the simplest of terms, we have to find a way to make the forests worth more alive than dead,” and that “The doomsday clock of climate change is ticking ever faster towards midnight,”

He called for partnerships between public and private sectors with banks, pension funds and insurance companies, who he said, should provide incentives to help slow down global deforestation.

Prince Charles, stated in his address that the cutting down and burning of gigantic tracts of rainforest was directly responsible for a very significant proportion of greenhouse gas emissions, and thus a major contributor to global warming, not to mention the loss of irreplaceable plant life.

Every year, rainforest, matching the size of the entire UK is being destroyed to make way for new farmland. The Prince of Wales also mentioned that some business executives and public opinion were in favour of more radical solutions and changes in lifestyle that so far, national governments have not dared to propose.

He welcomed the European commission’s new proposals to bolster the promotion of renewable energy and biofuels and to cut dangerous greenhouse gas emissions, but he said that governments were still dragging their feet over meeting these challenges.
He compared fighting, global climate change to all-out war and questioned if “we have the courage to wage it”.

The Prince of Wales met with members of charities and business leaders, as well as Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and the EU’s environment, energy, trade and agriculture commissioners to discuss strategies to combat global climate change.

He proposed that the proceeds from the European Union’s auction of emissions permits should be used as incentives for developing countries to adopt sustainable forestry methods.

Friends of the Earth welcomed the Prince’s speech, in particular, his proposals that developing nations should receive payments to help protect the forests, and this call for governments to take action.