Charles announced the U.K. government’s plans to expand fossil fuel field licensing, despite his lifelong environmental advocacy.
King Charles III appeared to suppress his environmental concerns on Tuesday, as he announced the U.K. government’s planned expansion of fossil fuel field licensing during his first King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament.
In the speech, captured on camera and broadcast live in Britain, Charles read the government’s policy outline for the incoming parliamentary term. It is written by the government and not by Charles himself and it was the first time he has read the speech in his own right as monarch. He became the first king to open parliament in such a ceremony since his grandfather, King George VI, in 1950.
Prior to the ceremony, speculation arose in Britain about how the king would perform the reading, as it addressed the ongoing cost of living crisis in the country and also the government’s plans to relax environmental targets and it moves toward the national goal of becoming « net zero » by 2050.
To become net zero, a nation must offset as many carbon emissions as it produces. This would not only significantly reduce the environmental impact of human habitation in Britain, but also have a positive impact on the global environment and climate change.
Charles has been a vocal advocate for the environment since the 1970s, being one of the first prominent global figures to play such a role, earning him ridicule in the early years.
In an exclusive editorial for Newsweek in 2022, the then-Prince Charles wrote of the need for urgency when tackling climate change, saying « the time is now » to act. The government’s announcement this year that it would be reducing measures that pushed towards the 2050 target for net zero was at odds with the king’s publicly stated position.
