Prince: Climate Crisis 'Too Visible To Be Ignored'

PRINCE William is warning that many people across the world feel defeated by the climate crisis but insists it is not too late to act.

- Richard Palmer

He issued a rallying cry for change in an impassioned speech at the third annual Earthshot Prize awards yesterday.

It comes as extreme heat engulfed much of Europe this year and other parts of the world were hit by wildfires and floods.

The Prince of Wales used his platform for environmental innovation to say: "The last year has been one of great change and even greater challenge - a year in which the effects of the climate crisis have become too visible to be ignored.

"And a year that has left so many feeling defeated, their hope dwindling."

But William, 41, insisted the innovators showcased at the awards he created three years ago offered hope for the future.

He added: "Future generations will look back on this decade as the point at which we globally took collective action for our planet.

"The moment we refused to accept the voices of denial and defeatism and, instead, became the architects of change towards a healthy and sustainable world. We owe it to the generations that will follow to work together for their future and for the future of our planet."

Courage

The Prince, who is travelling without the Princess of Wales as Kate is said to be helping Prince George with a week of school exams, continued: "It is my belief that we will find the courage to do so. We will find the courage because we will hold on to the most powerful motivators of all: optimism and hope."