
(RNS) – Everyone agrees that Queen Elizabeth II is a tough act to follow. As a constitutional monarch who holds his kingdom together without ever making a political statement, let alone a partisan one, he holds himself above politics as a symbol of the best of British values and character. .
King Charles III took the crown as an elder who spoke on issues ranging from urban architecture to the environment and global warming. His personal life, too, carries some heavy baggage: Some will never forgive him for his treatment of Princess Diana.
Because of that history, he should resist those advisers who want to force him to follow his mother’s mold. She is not his mother and never will be. He had to find his own way. He needs to acknowledge his failures and build on his strengths.
One of his strengths is the aforementioned commitment to the environment. Before it was fashionable, Charles criticized plastic pollution in the oceans. He was also ahead of other world leaders in warning about global warming.
Since the 1970s, Charles has been warning about the “terrible effects of pollution in all its forms of cancer” and pointed to the problem of “non-degradable plastic containers.” He took on the challenge of climate change before anyone else.
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“We are busy destroying the opportunities for future generations at a rapid pace,” he said, “by not recognizing the damage we are doing to the natural environment, remembering that this is the only planet that knows- we have life on it.”
Unlike many, he takes seriously what scientists say about the effects of climate change. “It’s confusing,” he said, “that in our modern world we have such blind faith in science and technology that we all accept what science tells us about everything – until, that is, it comes to climate science .”
Early on, critics mocked him for these concerns, but he was never afraid to speak hard truths. “There is very little we can do now to prevent the loss of ice from the North Pole in the summer,” he said. “And we probably can’t stop the melting of the permafrost and the resulting release of methane. Furthermore, I fear that we may be too late to help the oceans maintain their ability to absorb carbon dioxide.”
At the COP26 meeting in Scotland last year, he warned, “The scale and scope of the threat we face calls for a global-systems-level solution based on a radical change to our current fossil fuel-based economy to one that is truly renewable and sustainable.”
He urged countries to “come together to create the environment that will enable every industry sector to take the necessary action. We know it will take trillions, not billions of dollars.

From left, Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince George and Prince William appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony during the Platinum Jubilee Pageant outside Buckingham Palace in London, June 5, 2022. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP)
For most of her reign, Queen Elizabeth would not have said these words, which seemed too political. But even he at COP26 spoke forcefully, saying that “the time of words has now shifted to the time of action.” Although he didn’t speak until decades after his son, his remarks at COP26 may have given Charles a green light to continue his global warming advocacy. Let’s hope.
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It is true that, as king, Charles must be careful what he says. His safest strategy is to be a spokesperson for science and the need for action and let others decide on specific policies. But he can act as an advocate for scientists and other experts to come up with solutions to global warming.
In these efforts, he will find a ready ally in Pope Francis and other religious leaders who recognize global warming as a moral issue in the 21st century.St century. Like the king, faith leaders are not in a position to make political choices about what to do, but they have the right, and the obligation, to demand action now before it is too late.