The Royal Family and COP26

The Royal Family and COP26

Gabriella Isukh

So far at this year’s COP26 gathering, multiple members of the royal family have contributed to the ongoing discussion of the world’s response to climate change. For reference, COP26 is the 2021 United Nations climate change conference. COP stands for “conference of the parties”, and the summit is taking place for the 26th time in Glasgow this year.

 

The first COP summit took place in 2015, where the Paris Climate Agreement was born. The purpose of the Paris Climate Agreement is to strengthen the global response to climate change and keep global temperatures from rising by more than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. Since then, the U.S. has created its share of drama, especially counting the time the country pulled out of the agreement as a whole. However, the news that everyone is watching this year is the speeches that many top members of the royal family are making.  

 

The most extensive speech came from the one and only Queen Elizabeth. She started off by remembering her late husband Prince Philip, stating a quote he made several years before his passing: “If the world pollution situation is not critical at the moment, it is as certain as anything can be that the situation will become increasingly intolerable within a very short time. If we fail to cope with this challenge, all other problems will pale into insignificance”. 

 

After this, she added to that statement with her own speech, mostly focusing on how nations need to focus on coming together for the common good. Lastly, she clarified the difference between politics and statesmanship- politics benefiting governments today, and statesmanship benefiting everyone in the future. This point was made clear when she stated, “the time for words has now moved to the time for action”. Overall, this was a very well-rounded, statesmanlike speech to be expected from the queen.

 

The next notable speech was made by Prince Charles of Wales. It can be noted that he made a speech live at the event, while the queen spoke from home. Needless to say, when he came onto the stage, many leaders including President Biden looked quite awestruck, being in the presence of a royal family member. Starting into his speech, he took a more information-based route, referencing the recently released IPCC report and urging countries not only to reduce emissions but make strides towards technology that would capture carbon that has already been released into the atmosphere.

 

Another difference between his and his mother’s speech was the approach he suggested should be taken to address the issue at hand. Instead of urging governments to make changes, he pointed his focus towards the private sector. He stated that there is “no doubt in my mind that the private sector is ready to play its part”. This comes after he created the Terra Carta pledge, which keeps companies who sign accountable for completing almost 100 actions to become more sustainable by 2030. It also aims to raise more finance for green investments and “bring prosperity into harmony with nature”. 

 

Lastly, Prince William used his time to introduce this year’s Earthshot winners. Earthshot was launched by Prince William and The Royal Family Foundation in 2020 and took its namesake inspiration from the JFK moonshot project. The most notable winner was Vinisha Umashankar from India. At 15 years old, she invented a solar ironing cart, which is financed can give street vendors the opportunity to stop the use of charcoal in their operations. 

 

All in all, every speech made by the royal family this year was very beneficial in the motivated spirit of the conference. It may be argued that because they are not the official government in any country, they don’t have a place in suggesting a path forward. However, the influence of the royal family spans far and wide to this day.  In using their platform as well as their finance to pave a way forward, they are making a positive impact, which is all that matters to the planet.