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Prince Charles warns of climate ‘tipping point’
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, Nov 22, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Prince Charles warned
Friday that time is running out to address the impact of climate change as he
prepares to visit one of the Pacific island nations most affected by global
warming.
As he wrapped up a six-day trip to New Zealand ahead of three days in the
Solomon Islands, Charles said the need for climate action was urgent.
“We have reached a tipping point and we still have the ability to change
course, but only 10 years,” said the first in line to the British throne, who
has been a passionate environmentalist for decades.
He said climate change was a scientific fact, rejecting suggestions from
sceptics that “scaremongering” was dominating the debate.
“We have abused nature, exploited her and given her nothing back in
return,” he told an audience at Christchurch’s Lincoln University.
“Nothing is sacred anymore, we are reaping a loss of biodiversity and
experiencing the impacts of climate changes. We urgently need to pay the
mounting debt.”
He and wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, will have the chance to see the
impact of climate change at close quarters when they make their first visit
to the Solomon Islands on Saturday.
Some communities in the impoverished archipelago have already had to move
because of rising seas and the entire population of about 660,000 has been
affected by increasingly extreme weather, including wild cyclones.
BSS/AFP/RY/1452 hrs